CAT/C/71/D/866/2018 Complainant’s comments on the State party’s observations 5.1 In comments dated 13 May 2019, the complainant submits that even though the general situation in Ethiopia has improved in recent months, following the election of the new Prime Minister, Mr. Ahmed, it is impossible to predict whether the efforts of the Ethiopian authorities to reconcile with the opposition will be successful and sustainable. The Federal Administrative Court has stated in several recent judgments that, despite progress, the situation in Ethiopia remains of concern and is still far from stability. It is not known whether the new Prime Minister will be able to hold on to power, as he already faced an assassination attempt in June 2018. The tense and partly contradictory situation in Ethiopia is described in a report published by the Danish Immigration Service, which points out that despite improvements, there are still reports about detentions on political grounds and a substantial number of political prisoners have not yet been released. 25 5.2 The complainant objects to the State party’s claim that her account of the ill-treatment by her former partner is “stereotypical” and lacks substance. She had informed the Federal Office for Migration that she was already an active member of Ginbot 7 in Ethiopia, and that her then boyfriend, an intelligence agent, had threatened, beaten and repeatedly raped her after learning that she was a Ginbot 7 member and she had therefore been forced to leave Ethiopia. Her declarations to the asylum authorities were precise and consistent. 5.3 The complainant claims that the evidence submitted with her communication clearly indicates that she is strongly involved with the Ethiopian community in Switzerland and opposes human rights violations in her home country. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Ethiopian Human Rights and Democracy Task Force and represents the organization in the Canton of Lucerne. Most members of the Executive Committee are not listed in the commercial register. The Task Force confirmed her involvement in a letter dated 20 February 2018 and described her activities in detail, stating that she was highly involved in decision-making, in promoting the Task Force in general and in different events in Lucerne. The tasks performed by the women’s group, of which the complainant is a founding member, are described extensively, for example, supporting Task Force events by preparing food and drink and raising funds for the organization. Therefore, the complainant’s involvement cannot be described as marginal. The complainant is acquainted with numerous high-ranking opposition members and has taken part in countless meetings, demonstrations and forums. Pictures and videos of the events, showing the complainant, can easily be found on the Internet. Her regular and intense participation can be detected without effort by the Ethiopian authorities, which, as the State party acknowledges, have intensified their search for citizens with dissenting opinions. This has not changed much since the change of power in 2018. 5.4 The complainant notes that the Swiss Refugee Council, a non-governmental organization, recently pointed out that the National Intelligence and Security Service of Ethiopia intensively monitored Ethiopian nationals abroad, whether or not they were particularly exposed in the opposition. Expressing sympathy for the political opposition could be sufficient. Moreover, there were signs that even after the legalization of certain groups, the Service continued to monitor the diaspora in order to find out whether new groups opposing the Government were being founded.26 State party’s additional observations 6. On 14 May 2019, the State party informed the Committee that the complainant’s comments of 13 May 2019 did not contain any new elements and that it maintained the position formulated in its observations of 19 September 2018. 25 26 8 Danish Immigration Service, Ethiopia: Political Situation and Treatment of Opposition (2018), pp. 12–13. Swiss Refugee Council, “Äthiopien: Exilpolitische Aktivitäten, staatliche Überwachung, neuer Entwicklungen” (26 September 2018), pp. 8–9.