the Swiss Appeal Commission on Asylum Matters and not when filing his initial application for asylum. The State expresses surprise that a seeker of asylum on grounds of torture waited to have his application turned down before producing a medical certificate, whose evidential status was, moreover, compromised by the fact that three years had passed since the alleged facts. The State adds that, even if one considered the author's allegation that he had been subjected to torture in the past to be well founded, it did not follow that he ran a foreseeable personal and present risk of being subjected to torture again if he was returned to the Syrian Arab Republic. (4) 6.9 With regard to the author's fears of being exposed to inhuman and degrading treatment for having left Syrian territory illegally, the State party notes that the author's allegations that he had left the Syrian Arab Republic under threat of reprisals by the Syrian authorities lacked credibility. There is no evidence to back the claim that the author's uncle had been warned of his imminent arrest. However, evidence that the petitioner was under threat at the time of leaving his country is, the State party notes, a prerequisite for the granting of asylum. Moreover, the author has not furnished proof of having left Syrian territory illegally. And even if he had, the penalty for such an offence would be a fine or term of imprisonment, which cannot be considered to be a breach of article 3 of the Convention. 6.10 With regard to the risks incurred by the author for having applied for asylum in Switzerland, the State party considers that the Syrian authorities would not subject him to inhuman or degrading treatment solely on that account, since they are aware of the fact that many of their nationals try in this way to obtain residency permits in Europe. The State has no concrete evidence to the effect that asylumseekers returned to the Syrian Arab Republic are subjected to treatment that violates article 3 of the Convention. 6.11 Lastly, the State party considers the author's allegation that he would risk persecution because of his close links in Switzerland with movements that opposed the Syrian regime. The State party notes that the author's statements on the subject are very vague and insubstantial, indicating that the activities in question were on a very limited scale; otherwise, the author would have described them in detail to the Swiss asylum authorities in his own interest. 6.12 The State party concludes that, under the circumstances and following careful scrutiny of the case, substantial grounds do not exist for believing that the author would be in danger of being subjected to torture if he was returned to the Syrian Arab Republic. The State