CAT/C/48/D/382/2009 risk of being subjected to torture in the country to which he would be returned. The existence of a pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights in a country does not in itself constitute sufficient reason for determining that a particular person would be in danger of being subjected to torture upon returning to that country; additional grounds must be adduced to show that the individual concerned would be personally at risk. Conversely, the absence of a consistent pattern of flagrant violations of human rights does not mean that a particular person might not be in danger of being subjected to torture. 7.3 The Committee takes note of the prevalence of the precarious human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including the escalation of human rights violations during the presidential elections of 2006. The Committee observes that the State party has taken this factor into account when evaluating the existence of a personal risk the complainant might face if returned to his country, including its consideration of the situation as less strained since the departure of Jean-Pierre Bemba from the country in 2007. 7.4 The Committee recalls its general comment No. 1 on the implementation of article 3, which states that “the risk of torture must be assessed on grounds that go beyond mere theory or suspicion. However, the risk does not have to meet the test of being highly probable”, but must be personal and present. 3 In this regard, in previous decisions, the Committee has determined that the risk of torture must be foreseeable, real and personal. 4 The Committee recalls that under the terms of its general comment No. 1, it gives considerable weight to findings of fact that are made by organs of the State party concerned, while at the same time it is not bound by such findings and instead has the power, provided by article 22, paragraph 4, of the Convention, of free assessment of the facts based upon the full set of circumstances in every case.5 7.5 The complainant claims that he faces a personal and present risk of torture in the Democratic Republic of the Congo because of his membership in MLC and active opposition to the candidature of Mr. Kabila in the 2006 presidential elections and that, as a result, he was arrested and beaten by the security forces which have since been looking for him. The complainant based his allegations of a risk of torture on the arrest warrant reportedly issued against him and a medical certificate of dental treatment provided as proof for his allegations of ill-treatment. While the complainant requested an extension of a deadline for his response to the State party’s observations on the merits with a justification of the need to seek further evidence from his contacts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he did not submit any new documents that would help to substantiate his allegations. 7.6 The Committee further observes that the State party has challenged the authenticity of the arrest warrant the complainant has produced, which it has considered as forgery. The State party has also questioned the relevance of the medical certificate for dental treatment adduced by the complainant. The complainant has maintained before the Committee that the arrest warrant and medical certificate are authentic and relevant. However, the complainant has not put forward sufficient evidence of the authenticity of the arrest warrant, nor has he clarified why the dental certificate does not show the cause of his broken teeth. In this connection, the Committee notes that according to the report on the 3 See, inter alia, communications No. 94/1997, K.N. v. Switzerland, Views adopted on 19 May 1998, paras. 10.2 and 10.5, and No. 100/1997, J.U.A. v. Switzerland, Views adopted on 10 November 1998, paras. 6.3 and 6.5. 4 See, inter alia, communications No. 258/2004, Dadar v. Canada, Decision adopted on 23 November 2005, and No. 226/2003, T.A. v. Sweden, Decision adopted on 6 May 2005. 5 See, inter alia, Communication No. 356/2008, N.S. v. Switzerland, Decision adopted on 6 May 2010. 7