CAT/C/34/D/233/2003** Page 26 Minister’s conclusions were based. She concluded, in her turn, that under the circumstances she did not exclude that she would have to revert to him on the same matter at a later stage. 12.6 In the course of the Swedish embassy’s visit to the complainant on 3 October 2004, the question of the complainant’s position in respect of further inquiries into the allegations of ill-treatment was raised again. When the issue had been raised with him for the first time (during the visit of 14 July 2004), the complainant’s prison sentence had recently been reduced to 15 years and he was concerned that new investigations might have a negative impact on the chances of further reductions being made as a consequence of good behaviour on his part. On 3 October 2004, however, the complainant’s position had changed. He then declared that he was in favour of an independent inquiry and said that he was willing to contribute to such an inquiry. 12.7 In view of the importance attached by the State party to the complainant’s own wishes in this regard, the State party regarded the complainant’s new position as making way for further measures on its part. Since the envisaged inquiry would naturally require the additional approval and cooperation of the Egyptian government, the Swedish Ambassador to Egypt was instructed on 26 October 2004 to raise this issue with the Egyptian Foreign Ministry at the highest possible level. The Ambassador consequently met with the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs on 1 November 2004. The Ambassador conveyed the message that the Swedish Government continued to be concerned about the allegatio ns that the complainant had been exposed to torture and other ill-treatment during the initial period following his return to Egypt. The need for a thorough, independent and impartial examination of the allegations, in accordance with the principle of the rule of law and in a manner that was acceptable to the international community, was stressed by the Ambassador. In response, the latter was informed of the Minister’s intention to discuss the matter with the Minister in charge of the GIS. The Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, however, anticipated two problems with regard to an international inquiry. Firstly, there was no tradition in Egypt when it came to inviting representatives of the international community to investigate domestic matters of this cha racter. It would probably be viewed as an unwelcomed interference with internal affairs. Secondly, attempting to prove that ill-treatment had not occurred could pose a problem of a more technical nature, particularly in view of the fact that several years had passed since the ill-treatment allegedly took place. 12.8 As a follow-up to the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the State party informs that its Ambassador met with the Undersecretary of State of the GIS on 22 November and 21 December 2004. During the first of these meetings, the undersecretary of state mentioned that Egypt was anxious to comply, as far as possible, with the Swedish Government’s request for an inquiry. However, during the second meeting, the Ambassador was handed a letter by the Minister in charge of the GIS containing the Egyptian government’s formal answer to the renewed Swedish request for an inquiry. The content of the letter was similar to that of the previous letter from the same Minister in July 2004. Thus, the allegations concerning ill- treatment of the complainant were again refuted as unfounded. Furthermore, no direct answer was provided to the request that an independent inquiry be conducted. 12.9 The matter was again brought up by Ms. Freivalds in connection with a visit to Stockholm on 15 February 2005 by the Egyptian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs responsible for multilateral issues. Ms. Freivalds informed the Egyptian Deputy Minister of the complainant’s case and the allegations made regarding his ill- treatment. She stressed that