A/66/44
bodies into the lagoon by men in military uniform shortly after the suppression by law
enforcement personnel of a demonstration. The attempt to dispose of dead bodies was also
witnessed by the complainant’s father, who was allegedly captured by men in military
uniform and whose mutilated body was found sometime later. He also claimed that the
emergency assistance procedure consisting of minimum assistance coupled with
surveillance by the Swiss administration police pending removal violated article 22 of the
Convention. With regard to the allegations under article 22 of the Convention, the
Committee noted the State party’s argument that the emergency assistance, which is
granted only on request, was designed to meet an individual’s basic needs, and that the
obligation under article 3 was one of non-refoulement, not one of ensuring a high standard
of living in the host country. The Committee consequently considered that the complainant
did not sufficiently substantiate his allegations under article 22 of the Convention and
found this part of the communication inadmissible. The Committee, after examining the
claims and evidence submitted by the complainant as well as the arguments from the State
party concluded, on the merits, that the complainant failed to provide sufficient evidence to
demonstrate that he would face a foreseeable, real and personal risk of being subjected to
torture if deported to Togo. Therefore, no breach of article 3 of the Convention was found
in this complaint.
99.
Complaint No. 349/2008 (Güclü v. Sweden) related to a claim by a woman of a
violation of article 3 of the Convention in the event of her forcible deportation from
Sweden to Turkey. Initially an active and long-standing member of the Kurdish Workers’
Party (the PKK) and a guerrilla soldier, the complainant later started to have doubts about
the ideology of the PKK and left its ranks. She claimed that upon her return to Turkey she
would be arrested and tortured by the Turkish authorities and/or by the PKK. The
complainant further stated that she would not get a fair trial and would be sent to prison,
where she would not be protected from the PKK. As to the complainant’s allegation that if
returned to Turkey she would be killed by the PKK in retaliation for leaving the
organization without permission, the Committee considered that the issue of whether the
State party had an obligation to refrain from expelling a person who might risk pain or
suffering inflicted by a non-governmental entity, without the consent or acquiescence of the
Government, fell outside the scope of article 3 of the Convention. Thus, the Committee
found that this claim was inadmissible. The Committee noted that the State party did not
dispute the complainant’s involvement with the PKK, but rather argued that her
involvement was at a low level. It also noted that while the State party denied that she
would be of much interest to the Turkish authorities at the moment, it admitted that if she
was pursued by the Turkish authorities, there was a risk that she would be arrested,
detained pending trial and sentenced to a long term of imprisonment. The Committee
further noted that the complainant provided information on a criminal case initiated against
her in Turkey, which was uncontested by the State party. The Committee then observed
that, according to various sources, including the reports provided by the complainant, the
Turkish security and police forces continued to use torture, in particular during questioning
and in detention centres, including against suspected terrorists. In conclusion, the
Committee noted that the complainant was a member of the PKK for 15 years; that even
though she was operating at a low level, she did on occasion work for its leader Öcalan and
other high profile PKK leaders; that she is wanted in Turkey, to be tried under anti-terrorist
laws and thus was likely to be arrested upon arrival. In the light of the foregoing, the
Committee considered that the complainant provided sufficient evidence to show that she
personally ran a real and foreseeable risk of being subjected to torture upon her return to
Turkey. Accordingly, the Committee concluded that the complainant’s removal to that
country would constitute a breach of article 3 of the Convention.
100. In complaint No. 373/2009 (Aytulun and Güclü v. Sweden), the complainants, the
husband and daughter of the complainant who submitted a similar communication to the
GE.11-45568
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