CAT/C/48/D/382/2009
In addition, he conceded that he had not exercised any political activities since his arrival in
Switzerland.
4.7
Both the Federal Office for Migration and the Federal Administrative Tribunal
considered that the allegations of the complainant were not reliable and thus could not
support a conclusion that the complainant would be at risk of torture. Furthermore, both
authorities have considered the arrest warrant against the complainant to be fake, with some
parts of the document being incomprehensible and erroneous while other parts were
missing. The State party also pointed out that the arrest warrant has been produced in
colour, which is not a regular practice, and stressed that the procurement of false documents
is fairly easy in the country.
4.8
In the view of the Federal Office for Migration and the Federal Administrative
Tribunal, the complainant’s request for asylum lacked substance while many of his
statements in support of the request were perceived as contradictory and inconsistent.
4.9
The State party also states that the complainant’s accounts of the events following
the incident of his beating have not been credible. The allegations that the complainant was
left in a sand-box by the security forces which reportedly issued later on an arrest warrant
against him are implausible in the view of the State party. The complainant’s claims of
being persecuted by the security forces were not considered credible either since the
complainant stayed working in Kinshasa for several months following the incident despite
the fact that he allegedly knew about the arrest warrant of 6 April 2007. Moreover, the State
party notes that the complainant conceded during his interview of 23 January 2008 that
with the exception of one demonstration in Matadi in June 2006, he has not been politically
active. He subsequently changed his opinion affirming that he was an important member of
MLC who was responsible for awareness-raising. The Federal Administrative Tribunal
dismissed as unsubstantiated the complainant’s appeal of 17 February 2009, alleging inter
alia a misunderstanding of the question during the first interview on 23 January 2008, since
the questions had been clear and simple. It should be also noted that the complainant did
not present any convincing arguments or supporting documents with respect to his political
activities for MLC. Nor did he show any awareness of the structure and leaders of the party.
4.10 According to the State party, the complainant has failed to clarify numerous
inconsistencies revealed during the asylum procedure both before the national authorities
and the Committee. The Government has thus aligned itself with the findings of the
decisions by the Federal Office for Migration and the Federal Administrative Tribunal due
to absence of credibility of the complainant’s allegations.
4.11 The State party concludes that nothing indicates that serious grounds exist to believe
that the complainant would face a serious and personal risk of torture if returned to the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. His allegations and the evidence do not adequately
justify the finding that the complainant would face a real, concrete and personal risk of
torture prohibited under article 1 of the Convention if returned. In the State party’s view,
should the Committee decide to consider this communication admissible, it is requested to
conclude that the facts and allegations before it do not present a violation of the obligations
of Switzerland under article 3 of the Convention.
Complainant’s comments on the State party’s observations on the merits
5.1
In his comments dated 28 May 2010, the complainant recalls that his complaint has
been based on a concrete and personal risk of torture and other ill-treatment if returned. He
points out that he was arrested, tortured and ill-treated by the security service of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo due to his political opinions, allegations of which have
been supported by the arrest warrant and the medical certificate. At the same time, he
contests the need to submit new elements and makes a reference to the claims raised during
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