CAT/C/38/D/296/2006 Page 5 4.5 On 22 December 2004, the Migration Board dismissed the applications of the complainant and his wife and ordered that they be expelled to their country of origin. The Migration Board considered Azerbaijan’s status as a member of the Council of Europe and the fact that international and domestic NGOs are allowed to work in the country. It concluded that while there remain some deficiencies with regard to respect for human rights in Azerbaijan, including with regard to the treatment of opposition political parties by the police, the general situation in Azerbaijan did not per se constitute a ground to grant asylum to the complainant and his wife. With regard to the particular circumstances alleged by the complainant, the Migration Board found that he did not hold such a prominent position within the Musavat Party to warrant particular attention from the authorities. The authenticity of the arrest warrant dated 15 January 2004 was questioned. 4.6 On 3 June 2005, the complainant and his wife appealed the decision of the Migration Board to the Aliens Appeals Board. They submitted further supporting documentation, including a protocol from the Security Police dated 2 July 2003, (which stated that the complainant, who was referred to as the vice chief editor of the Yeni Musavat newspaper, had been placed in detention due to suspicions of having spread secret information detrimental to State security), together with certificates concerning the complainant from various human rights organisations in Azerbaijan. 4.7 On 1 July 2005, the complainant and his wife lodged an application for asylum on behalf of their newborn child. The Aliens Appeals Board considered this application along with the appeal of the complainant and his wife. 4.8 On 28 November 2005, the Aliens Appeals Board rejected the appeal on similar grounds to those advanced by the Migration Board. The Aliens Appeals Board also questioned the complainant’s credibility. It concluded that the complainant’s Musavat membership card was not authentic and that two of the certificates presented by the complainant from Azerbaijani organisations were not genuine. The Aliens Appeals Board based its conclusions on its prior general knowledge of Musavat membership cards, a signature submitted to it in person by an alleged signatory of one of the certificates, together with direct telephone and email contact with an alleged signatory of another of the certificates. Further, the Board had received confirmation that the chief editor of the Musavat newspaper denied that the complainant “had worked as a vice chief editor or as a writer for the newspaper”. It was not satisfied by the complainant’s explanations, which tended to question the veracity of the persons who had allegedly provided the certificates in the first place, when confronted by the information gathered by the Board. 4.9 The Migration Board re-examined the case in respect of the complainant and his family on its own initiative under a new temporary law introduced on 15 November 2005 and concluded, by decision dated 19 May 2006, that no resident visa should be granted on humanitarian grounds. 4.10 On the admissibility, and with regard to whether domestic remedies have been exhausted in this case, the State party notes that on 7 June 2006 the complainant’s wife lodged a further application with the Migration Board for residence permits for herself and her family. The State party notes that such application has not yet been considered and that a decision by the Migration Board can be appealed to a migration court. The State party leaves it up to the Committee to decide whether all domestic remedies have been exhausted in this regard. Finally, it argues that the communication is inadmissible under article 22, paragraph