CAT/C/30/D/216/2002 page 6 4.12 As to whether any risk of torture currently exists, the complainant’s alleged torture at the hands of the PLO (an issue not initially raised) occurred some 30 years ago, a fact which must by now be deemed to lack relevance. Nor has the complainant in any way substantiated, beyond mere statements, that he was arrested and tortured by the PLO in Lebanon and Syria. While he claimed he had only been in Jordan once for a short period, Jordan remains his country of nationality (with a large Palestinian population) and a wish not to reside there cannot ipso facto confer entitlement to protection in another country. 4.13 The State party observes that the complainant also stated that he had held a Jordanian passport for 20 consecutive years until it was taken from him by an “Arab mafia” in return for the forged passport. The complainant stated that it was renewed, every fifth year, even though Jordanian intelligence allegedly knew even then of his imprisonment in the 1970s and the accusation of spying for Israel. These circumstances relating to the complainant’s passport undermine the credibility of his claims. 4.14 The State party notes that at no time (including in the complaint) has the complainant claimed that he had been politically active or that he had worked in any way against Jordan or the Palestinian cause. Nor has he submitted to the Committee any information substantiating his claim that he will be “persecuted and tortured by the Jordanians and possibly handed over to the PLO”. The State party thus maintains that the complainant’s assertions about the consequences of his efforts to sell the land allegedly inherited by him amount to no more than mere theory and suspicion. 4.15 Taking these circumstances in their totality, the State party submits that the complainant has failed to show that there is a foreseeable, real and personal risk of torture in the event of his return to Jordan, and accordingly there is no issue arising under article 3 of the Convention. Complainant’s comments on the State party’s submissions 5.1 By letter of 30 December 2002, the complainant responds to the State party’s submissions, contending that the reason he was arrested in Lebanon in 1971 was that the Israeli intelligence service recruited him prior to his departure to study in Lebanon. He alleges he was arrested after a week and identified by a Palestinian official, related to his mother’s first husband, who had been in Nablus prison when the complainant was in contact with Israeli intelligence authorities located in the same building. 5.2 From 1995 until 1997, transactions concerning land in Israel could be, and were, undertaken in Jordan. The complainant argues that if he is returned to Jordan, he would be accused of seeking asylum in Sweden, and selling land in Israel. The spying issue could also be reopened, which could result in a long prison sentence during which he could be mistreated by other inmates. If he is released upon his return, he could be pursued by Palestinian organizations in Jordan. He argues that Yasser Arafat himself could reopen his case. 5.3 Finally, he alleges that the State party wishes to deport him as a matter of convenience, as his is a political case connected with both Israel and the Palestinian Authority.