CAT/C/54/D/490/2012
submitted to the Immigration Service. The complainant could have presented the report of
the psychotherapist of 28 November 2011 to the Supreme Administrative Court, as it was
produced before the leave to appeal was refused, but she failed to do so.
4.7
Regarding the complainant’s allegations about interpretation problems during the
proceedings before the Immigration Service and the Administrative Court, the State party
argues that this allegation lacks credibility on the following grounds. The complainant
wrote her request for asylum herself in Lingala and indicated Lingala as her language.
During the interrogation arranged by the police on 14 March 2010, she reported that her
mother tongue was Kintandu and that she also spoke Lingala and some French. As
mentioned in the record of the Immigration Service interview, which was in Lingala, the
complainant confirmed that she understood what the interpreter was saying. The author was
explicitly requested to tell the interviewer if she did not understand the questions posed to
her. The record of an interview in the Immigration Service of 7 July 2010 indicates that the
complainant was asked detailed questions about her contacts with MLC and activities in the
party. The complainant answered that she was not a member of MLC, that she only
attended a party meeting as a silent supporter, that she was given a membership card only
when travelling to Dongo and that she was wearing MLC clothes, which were distributed to
people, without any political motive. The Government notes that the complainant did not
mention any problems caused by interpretation in her appeals to the Administrative Court
and the Supreme Administrative Court.
Complainant’s comments on the State party’s observations
5.1
With regard to the State party’s statement that the complainant had submitted only
one medical report to the Immigration authorities, on 9 September 2012 the complainant
submitted that the medical report of 2 June 2010 recorded her physical injuries and
emphasized the need for her mental health to be regularly monitored. Additionally, the
complainant noted that, at the interview with the Finnish Immigration Service on 7 July
2010 she had told the authorities about the serious harm and torture she had suffered when
captured by the soldiers. In particular, the complainant mentioned that she was imprisoned
in a pit in the ground and raped repeatedly. The complainant referred to European Council
Directive 2004//83/EC of 29 April 2004 on minimum standards for the qualification and
status of third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as persons who
otherwise need international protection and the content of the protection granted, and the
case law of the European Court of Human Rights5 in claiming that the burden of proof
shifts from the complainant to the State when the complainant has already suffered serious
harm or torture prior to flight. Taking into account the fact that the claimant recounted her
experience of torture to the authorities and supported her story with a medical statement,
the burden of proof has shifted to the Finnish authorities.
5.2
The complainant also stated that she experienced significant difficulties in obtaining
a referral to a specialized doctor. During the proceedings at the Immigration Service, she
complained to a nurse about the pain and weakness she was experiencing, but was not
referred to a psychiatrist. The Immigration Service did not consider it necessary for her to
consult a gynaecologist. The complainant was referred to a psychologist only after moving
to another reception centre in November 2011. Her legal counsel tried to obtain an
appointment for her with a psychiatrist, but as the nurse responsible for the complainant did
not think it necessary, the reception centre concluded it would not pay for the consultation.
5
6
See, in particular, European Court of Human Rights, case of R.C. v. Sweden, judgement of 9 March
2010 (application No. 41827/07).