CAT/C/31/D/203/2002 Page 8 in a country does not of itself constitute sufficient grounds for determining whether the person in question would be at risk of being subject to torture upon return to that country. Nor does the absence of such a situation mean that a person cannot be considered in danger of being subjected to torture. 7.3 The Committee recalls its General Comment on article 3, which states that the Committee is to assess whether there are ‘substantial grounds for believing that the author would be in danger of torture’ if returned, and that the risk of torture ‘must be assessed on grounds that go beyond mere theory or suspicion’. The risk need not be ‘highly probable’, but it 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 7.4 In assessing the risk of torture in the present case, the Committee notes that the complainant claims to have been tortured and imprisoned previously by the Iranian authorities, because of his involvement with the Fedayeen Khalg-Iran. This is not contested by the State party. However, the alleged acts of torture occurred in 1983, some 20 years ago. The Committee notes that, in accordance with its General Comment on article 3, information which is considered pertinent to risk of torture includes whether the complainant has been tortured in the past, and if so, whether this was in the recent past.5 This cannot be said to be the case in the author’s complaint. 7.5 The Committee’s General Comment also directs the inquiry at whether the author of the communication has engaged in any political or other activity within or outside the State concerned which appear to make him or her ‘particularly vulnerable’ to the risk of torture.6 In the current case, the complainant contends that he signed a form upon his release, to the effect that he would not engage in further political activities, and that he was harassed by the authorities after his release. He claims that, despite this, he did continue to engage in political activities in Iran, that he had good reason to flee Iran in 1994, and that he has continued his political activities in the Netherlands, of which the Iranian authorities might be aware.. The complainant further alleges that he submitted to the authorities Iranian documents, issued by the Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office, which attest to the Iranian authorities’ interest in him and the dangers confronting him in Iran. 7.6 The Committee notes that the complainant’s arguments, and his evidence to support them, have all been considered by the State party’s courts. The Committee recalls its jurisprudence to the effect that it is not an appellate, quasi-judicial or administrative body. Consistent with its General Comment, whilst the Committee has the power of free assessment of the facts arising in the circumstances of each case, it must give considerable weight to findings of fact made by the organs of the State party. In this case, the Committee cannot determine that the State party’s review of the complainant’s case was deficient in this respect. On the basis of the above, the Committee considers that the 3 General Comment No1, Sixteenth Session (1996). Views of the Committee on Communication no 204/2002, H.K.H. v Sweden, 28 November 2002. 5 Paragraph 8(b). 6 Paragraph 8(e). 4