of gross violations of human rights does not mean that a person cannot be considered to be in danger of being subjected to torture in his or her specific circumstances. 13.4 The Committee recalls the absolute character of the obligation of State parties contained in article 3, paragraph 1, of the Convention. In this connection the Committee notes that pursuant to the Swedish 1989 Aliens Act there is an absolute impediment to expulsion an alien to a country where there are reasonable grounds for believing that he/she would be in danger of suffering capital or corporal punishment or of being subjected to torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 13.5 The Committee notes that the decision by the Court of Appeal to expel the authors was taken on the basis of what the Swedish Immigration Board characterized as "scanty" available information regarding the authors' personal circumstances. It is further noted that the complementary interviews with the authors, conducted to provide a basis for a risk assessment, were not conducted until after the submission of the authors' communications to the Committee and only upon request from counsel to the Ministry of Justice. 13.6 Having noted the above, the Committee considers that the authors' activities in Viet Nam and their history of detention and torture are relevant in determining whether they would be in danger of being subjected to torture upon their return. The Committee notes in that respect that the State party has pointed to inconsistencies in the authors' accounts of events and has contested the general veracity of their claim. In the present case, although a number of disparities may be explained by difficulties in translation, the considerable time which has elapsed since the authors' escape from Viet Nam and the procedural circumstances, the Committee considers that some doubts as to the authors' credibility remain. 13.7 Notwithstanding the above, the Committee is aware of the human rights situation in Viet Nam, but considers that given, inter alia, the considerable time which has elapsed since the escape of the authors and the fact that the illegal departure from Viet Nam in the middle of the 1980s is no longer considered an offence by the Vietnamese authorities, the authors have not substantiated their claims that they will personally be at risk of being subjected to torture if returned to Viet Nam at present. In this connection the Committee notes that a risk of being imprisoned upon return as such is not sufficient to trigger the protection of article 3 of the Convention. 13.8 The Committee recalls that, for the purposes of the Convention, one of the prerequisites for "torture" is that it is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. The Committee considers that the issue whether a State party has an obligation to refrain from expelling a person who might risk pain or suffering inflicted by a private person, without the consent or acquiescence of the State, falls outside the scope of article 3 of the Convention. 14. The Committee against Torture, acting under article 22, paragraph 7, of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, is of the view that the facts as found by the Committee do not reveal a breach of article 3 of the Convention. [Done in English, French, Russian and Spanish, the English text being the original version.] 146