CAT/C/67/D/816/2017 in accordance with article 22 (4) of the Convention, taking into account all the circumstances relevant to each case (para. 50). 8.6 In the present case, the Committee notes the complainants’ claims that, as perceived members and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, they would risk being subjected to treatment contrary to article 3 of the Convention by the Egyptian authorities if returned to Egypt because of the male complainant’s business arrangements with and links to a company owned by senior members of the Brotherhood. It notes their claims that the Egyptian authorities consider anyone who has links to the Brotherhood to be a supporter of that group. The Committee further notes that the Migration Court did not question that the male complainant had a business arrangement with a company belonging to high-ranking representatives of the Brotherhood. It notes the State party’s argument that this business arrangement could not, per se, be regarded as an expression of support for the Brotherhood, especially in view of the complainants’ long stay abroad. The Committee further notes the State party’s argument that the complainants have therefore not substantiated that the Egyptian authorities would, on the basis of the male complainant’s previous work, have any particular interest in him or his family or that they would be considered to be opponents of the Egyptian authorities. 8.7 The Committee recalls its findings in the proceedings of its inquiry on Egypt, in which it concluded that torture was a systematic practice in Egypt and appeared to occur particularly frequently following arbitrary arrests, where it was often carried out to obtain a confession or to punish and threaten political dissidents. 5 It further notes that according to country reports, the Muslim Brotherhood has been legally designated as a terrorist organization in Egypt. 6 It notes that large numbers of members and supporters of the Brotherhood were arrested following the military coup, with some 22,000 persons arrested by security forces in 2013 and 2014 and a further 12,000 persons arrested in 2015, including students, academics, engineers and medical professionals, most of them Brotherhood members and supporters of Mohamed Morsi; some rights groups estimated in 2017 that as many as 60,000 people had been detained for political reasons since July 2013. 7 The Committee further notes that according to country reports security forces continued to arrest hundreds of people based on their membership or perceived membership of the Brotherhood in 2017 and 2018.8 Torture and other ill-treatment remained routine in official places of detention and was systematic in detention centres run by the National Security Agency.9 8.8 Based on country reports, the Committee therefore notes that persons considered as supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood may be at risk of treatment contrary to article 3 in Egypt. In the present case, the Committee notes, however, that the complainants have not claimed to be members of the Brotherhood or to have been politically active in support of the group. It further notes that the complainants have not lived in Egypt for the past 20 years and that their only link to the Brotherhood is the male complainant’s previous business arrangements with a company owned by senior members of the Brotherhood. The Committee notes that the complainants have not claimed that they were working for this company in Egypt, and it notes that any project the male complainant may have been working on were executed outside Egypt. It further notes that the complainants have not explained how the Egyptian authorities would have been made aware of the business relationship in question. The Committee also notes that the complainants have not provided any further specific information or evidence that would indicate that the Egyptian authorities have instituted any criminal proceedings against the complainants or otherwise 5 6 7 8 9 A/72/44, para. 69. United States of America Department of State, “2016 country reports on human rights practices: Egypt”. Amnesty International, “Egypt: officially, you do not exist: disappeared and tortured in the name of counter-terrorism”, July 2016. See Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 2017/18: The State of the World’s Human Rights (London, 2018). Ibid. See also United States Department of State, “2018 country reports on human rights practices: Egypt”. 7