CAT/C/41/D/316/2007 Page 11 Consideration of the merits 7.1 The issue before the Committee is whether the extradition of the complainant to the United States would violate the State party's obligations under article 3 of the Convention not to extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he/she would be in danger of being subjected to torture. 7.2 In assessing the risk of torture, the Committee takes into account all relevant considerations, including the existence in the relevant State of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights. However, the aim of such determination is to establish whether the individual concerned would be personally at risk in the country to which he would return. It follows that the existence of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights in a country does not as such constitute a sufficient ground for determining that a particular person would be in danger of being subjected to torture upon his or her return to that country; additional grounds must exist to show that the individual concerned would be personally at risk. Similarly, the absence of a consistent pattern of gross violations of human rights does not mean that a person cannot be considered to be in danger of being subjected to torture in his or her specific circumstances. 7.3 The Committee recalls its general comment on article 3, which states that the Committee is to assess whether there are substantial grounds for believing that the complainant would be in danger of torture if returned to the country in question. The risk of torture need not be highly probable, but it must be personal and present. As to the burden of proof, the Committee also recalls its general comment on article 3 and its jurisprudence which establishes that the burden is generally upon the complainant to present an arguable case. Furthermore, the risk of torture must be assessed on grounds that go beyond mere theory or suspicion. 7.4 The complainant claims that he will be at risk of torture if extradited to the United States in view of, inter alia: a) the prejudicial publicity against him identifying him as the author of the crime for which extradition is requested; b) prison conditions in California, including the high incidence of HIV and other infectious diseases, and the risk of him contracting such diseases; c) racial segregation and discrimination in the Californian prison system; d) the discrimination against Hispanics and Muslims in his community; e) the fact that he was tortured by police to obtain information about the murder he is accused of, and that torture is widespread in the United States; f) the possibility for him to be placed in solitary confinement and, if sentenced to death, to be subjected to a lengthy period of detention on death row. 7.5 The Committee is aware of reports of brutality and use of excessive force by US lawenforcement personnel and the numerous allegations of their ill-treatment of vulnerable groups, including racial minorities. It is also aware of numerous reports of sexual violence perpetrated by detainees on one another and that appropriate measures to combat these abuses have not been implemented.1 However, the complainant’s allegations remain of a general nature. He does not provide specific evidence about the ill-treatment he alleges to have been subjected to when questioned by the Californian police. No significant evidence is provided either that the conditions in the prison or prisons in which he would be held in California generally amount to 1 See the Conclusions and recommendations of the Committee regarding the consideration of the second report of the United States, CAT/C/USA/CO/2, dated 25 July 2006, paras. 32 and 37.