CAT/C/CHE/CO/6
The State party should reconsider the maximum period of administrative detention,
resort to it only in exceptional circumstances and limit its duration in light of the
principle of proportionality.
14.
While noting that asylum-seekers are entitled to free legal aid during the ordinary
asylum procedure, the Committee remains concerned that free legal aid may be subject to
restrictive conditions when asylum-seekers file an application under the extraordinary
procedure (art. 3).
The State party should review its legislation in order to grant free legal assistance to
asylum-seekers during all asylum procedures, whether ordinary or extraordinary.
Repatriation and mistreatment
15.
While noting the steps taken by the State party to ensure the peaceful
implementation of forcible repatriation by air, particularly the training of specialized
officials, the Committee is concerned by persistent allegations of police violence and
mistreatment when persons are forcibly returned by air. The Committee notes with concern
that the Federal Act on the use of coercion and police measures in spheres within the
jurisdiction of the Confederation, which entered into force on 1 January 2009, does not
provide for the presence of human rights observers or independent physicians when forcible
repatriation by air takes place, as the Committee had recommended (CAT/C/CR/34/CHE,
para. 5 (b)) (arts. 2, 3 and 16).
The State party must:
(a)
Ensure that human rights observers and independent physicians are
present when persons are forcibly repatriated by air;
(b)
Provide also for their participation in the drafting by the Federal Office
for Migration of orders on the use of coercive measures by police escorts during
forcible returns;
(c)
Prevent police violence and mistreatment against persons being forcibly
repatriated by air, open inquiries into any such allegations, prosecute and punish
perpetrators, and compensate victims;
(d)
Continue training in human rights and, especially, in Convention
safeguards of police and other officials who carry out forcible repatriation.
16.
The Committee is most concerned by the death of a Nigerian citizen, Joseph
Ndukaku Chiakwa, on 10 March 2010, when he was being forcibly repatriated by air.
While noting that the authorities of the State party have opened an inquiry, the Committee
is concerned about whether the coercive measures applied by the State party are compatible
with the provisions of the Convention. The Committee is also concerned by the failure of
the State party to respond to claims for compensation from the families of the two latest
victims in recent cases of forced repatriation (arts. 2, 3 and 14).
The State party must:
(a)
Open an independent and impartial inquiry into the circumstances of the
death of Joseph Ndukaku Chiakwa, establish who was responsible for the use of force
that led to his death, prosecute and punish the perpetrators and offer compensation to
the victim’s family;
(b)
Provide the Committee with details of the compensation made to the
families of the two latest victims of forcible repatriation by air;
(c)
Inform the Committee as to whether the order on the use of coercive
measures by police escorts during forcible returns currently being drafted by the
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