CAT/C/49/D/432/2010
into further question the complainant’s authorship of these articles, in addition to the
reasons put forward by the Federal Administrative Court. 18
4.12 The State party concludes that it is unlikely that the Ethiopian authorities have taken
note of the complainant’s recent activities. The Ethiopian authorities are focusing all their
attention on individuals whose activities go beyond “the usual behaviour”, or who exercise
a particular function or activity that could pose a threat to the Ethiopian regime. However,
the complainant did not present such a profile, be it political or otherwise, when she arrived
in Switzerland and the State party deems it reasonable to exclude that she has subsequently
developed such a profile. The State party maintains that the documents produced by the
complainant do not show activity in Switzerland able to attract the attention of the
Ethiopian authorities. The fact that the complainant is identified in photographs and video
recordings is not sufficient to demonstrate a risk of persecution if returned.
4.13 In this regard, the State party maintains that numerous political demonstrations
attended by the complainant’s compatriots take place in Switzerland and in other countries,
that photographs or video recordings showing sometimes hundreds of people are made
publicly available by the relevant media and that it is unlikely that the Ethiopian authorities
are able to identify each person, or that they even have knowledge of the affiliation of the
complainant with the above-mentioned organizations.
4.14 The State party submits that there is no evidence that the Ethiopian authorities have
opened criminal proceedings against the complainant or that they have adopted other
measures against her. Accordingly, the Federal Office for Migration and the Federal
Administrative Court did not deem convincing the complainant’s claim that she has a function
within the Ethiopian diaspora in Switzerland able to attract the attention of the Ethiopian
authorities.19 In other words, the complainant has not established that if returned to Ethiopia
she would run a risk of ill-treatment because of her political activities in Switzerland.
4.15 The State party submits that, in the light of the above, there are no substantial
grounds for fearing that the complainant’s return to Ethiopia would expose her to a
foreseeable, real and personal risk of torture, and invites the Committee to find that the
return of the complainant to Ethiopia would not constitute a violation of the international
obligations of Switzerland under article 3 of the Convention.
The complainant’s comments on the State party’s observations
5.1
On 5 May 2011, the complainant commented on the State party’s observations. She
notes that, according to recent reports, the Ethiopian authorities have increased their efforts
to control the expression of dissent over the Internet20 and that they indeed try to identify
opposition activities by analysing photos and video recordings of demonstrations, at least
within Ethiopia.21 The complainant also refers to the worsening human rights situation in
Ethiopia and to the authorities’ efforts to restrict freedom of expression. 22 She submits that
the State party did not address the reports cited in her complaint to the Committee that
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20
21
22
Reference is made to the judgement of the Federal Administrative Court of 6 August 2010.
Reference is also made, inter alia, to communications No. 375/2009, T.D. v. Switzerland, decision
adopted on 26 May 2011; No. 393/2009, E.T. v. Switzerland, decision adopted on 23 May 2012; and
No. 414/2010, N.T.W. v. Switzerland, decision adopted on 16 May 2012.
Reference is made to the United States Department of State, 2010 Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices: Ethiopia, 8 April 2011, and Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2011, pp. 132-140.
United States Department of State, 2010 Country Reports.
Reference is made to Reporters Without Borders, “Newspapers and journalists face threats and legal
pressure”, 21 March 2011; and Human Rights Watch, One Hundred Ways of Putting Pressure:
Violations of Freedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopia (2010).
9