CAT/C/65/D/691/2015
Therefore, in the State party’s view, it is clear that the European Court did not dismiss the
complainant’s application for failure to exhaust domestic remedies or because the
application had not been submitted within the six-month time limit.
4.4
The State party contends that the complainant’s submissions do not include any
information according to which the inadmissibility grounds established in article 35 (2) (a)
and (b) of the European Convention on Human Rights would be applicable, and that the
only remaining admissibility grounds to be considered are those established in article 35 (3)
(a) and (b). The State party further submits that, from the wording of the European
Convention, it is clear that an assessment of both those grounds must involve a sufficient
consideration of the merits of the case. In view thereof, it considers that the European Court
of Human Rights must have declared the complainant’s application inadmissible for
substantial rather than mere procedural grounds and has therefore already examined the
same matter raised before the Committee. The State party concludes that the
communication should be declared inadmissible pursuant to article 22 (5) (a) of the
Convention.
Complainant’s comments on the State party’s observations
5.1
On 4 January 2016, the complainant submitted her comments to the State party’s
observations on the admissibility of the communication. With regard to the decision of the
European Court of 10 February 2015, the complainant submits that it is unclear whether the
single judge examined the case or on what reasons he or she based his or her decision to
declare the application inadmissible. The complainant considers that, in the light of the
limited information provided in the letter of the European Court dated 10 February 2015, it
cannot be assumed that the European Court has examined the matter within the meaning of
article 22 of the Convention. She submits that, given the limited information provided in
the letter of the European Court, it is very likely that the European Court has not conducted
a proper examination of the substance of her case. She therefore considers that the
Committee should consider her complaint admissible and conduct a proper examination of
her complaint.
5.2
Even if the Committee considers that the circumstances presented before both
international mechanisms are the same, new circumstances arose in the case of the
complainant after her application to the European Court of Human Rights that demonstrate
the risk she would face if returned to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Her ex-husband
remarried in the Islamic Republic of Iran and brought his new wife to Sweden. However, he
never formally divorced the complainant in the Islamic Republic of Iran. By not doing so,
he remains her “owner” and he can control her upon her return. Furthermore, the
complainant no longer lives in a women’s shelter and is not supported by her husband or
any other male. Such an independent way of living would have negative consequences for
her if she returned to her country of origin,16 which renders her complaint to the Committee
different from the one she submitted to the European Court of Human Rights, and should
be considered as such by the Committee.
5.3
On 9 February 2016, the complainant informed the Committee that, in application
No. 60300/14, Yakunova and others v. Sweden, the European Court of Human Rights,
sitting in single judge formation, had found that no violation of the rights established in the
European Convention on Human Rights had been committed, and had declared the
application inadmissible. The complainant notes that, in that case, the European Court
indeed examined the substance of the case before declaring it inadmissible. She submits
that the European Court did not express itself in the same way in her case and therefore did
not examine it properly. She concludes that her previous application before the European
Court does not preclude the Committee from reviewing the present communication.
16
No further information is provided on that matter.
5