CAT/C/49/D/406/2009
has not submitted any documents, and that she has not been able to establish that she would
face a real risk of torture in case of her return to Ethiopia.
2.6
The complainant submits that her speech at the founding meeting of KINIJIT was
recorded on a DVD, which also features many prominent opposition leaders. She does not
doubt that the Ethiopian embassy has knowledge of the content of this video recording. She
also claims that the decision of the Federal Administrative Court is inconsistent with its
prior jurisprudence, since another Ethiopian national has been found to fulfil the refugee
criteria in similar circumstances.3 The complainant adds that she was one of the most active
KINIJIT members from the very beginning. She spoke out on numerous occasions and
attended demonstrations in front of the United Nations as early as in 2005. She was present
at the time of filing a petition with the United Nations at Geneva in October of 2007 and
had been photographed together with Ato Mistre Haile Selassie, the leader of KINIJIT in
Switzerland, on that occasion. Other photographs show her with a megaphone as a
demonstration leader, speaking to the crowd assembled in front of the United Nations
Office at Geneva. On yet another occasion, she was photographed together with Obang
Metho, the Director of International Advocacy for the Anuak Justice Council. The
complainant argues that her involvement in the activities of KINIJIT has been consistent
over time and that she is one of its leading figures. She adds that the Ethiopian authorities
who closely monitor the activities of dissidents abroad must have noticed her outstanding
commitment to the KINIJIT movement in Switzerland.
2.7
According to the complainant, the Federal Administrative Court held that it must
have been noticed by the Ethiopian authorities that political activities of its nationals abroad
intensified after a negative decision on the asylum requests. She infers from this finding
that, firstly, the Ethiopian authorities know about the result and status of its nationals‟
asylum procedures in Switzerland. This, in turn, presupposes a degree of observation which
would involve every single Ethiopian asylum seeker, making it extremely hard for them not
to be identified. Secondly, the moment of establishment of the KINIJIT in Switzerland had
nothing to do with her asylum requests, since she is genuinely committed to the
movement‟s political objectives and has dedicated a large part of her private life to voicing
her concerns. The complainant argues, therefore, that the allegation made by the Federal
Administrative Court that the Ethiopian authorities distinguished between “real” and “fake”
opponents is completely unjustified. She also refers in this context to the anti-terrorism law
passed by the Ethiopian House of Peoples‟ Representatives on 7 July 2009, which contains
a broad definition of “terrorist acts”.4 The complainant adds that, pursuant to this law, any
kind of public political dissent can lead to a lengthy conviction, since the Ethiopian
authorities fail to make a distinction between political criticism and terrorism.
2.8
As to her identity,5 the complainant submits that she has never given a false name to
the asylum authorities in Switzerland. She applied for asylum under her original (Muslim)
name S.M. During the asylum interview, she once mentioned that she also had a Christian
name, A.A., which she adopted after returning from Sudan to Ethiopia with her family. The
complainant adds that the fact that she was unable to present any identity papers should not
be used against her, considering that she lived in Ethiopia only for four years.
3
4
5
4
Reference is made to the judgement of the Federal Administrative Court No. D-5398/2006, dated 24
June 2009, in relation to the asylum application of “A.” against the Federal Office for Migration.
Reference is made to Human Rights Watch, “Analysis of Ethiopia‟s draft anti-terrorism law”, 30 June
2009; Christian Ehret, “Ethiopia lawmakers pass controversial new anti-terrorism law”, Jurist, 9 July
2009.
See footnote 1 above.