CAT/C/62/D/683/2015
credible during the first asylum procedure and no further evidence in that regard was
submitted at the second asylum procedure. It notes that, according to the State party, the
complainant was not politically active before his departure from the Sudan. The Committee,
nonetheless, notes the complainant’s objections that he did attract the adverse attention of
the authorities while in the Sudan, his description of the circumstances of his detention and
release and the fact that his allegations were credible as they did not contain any
discrepancies. The Committee observes that the complainant has not submitted any
evidence supporting his claims of having been severely ill-treated by the Sudanese
authorities prior to his departure, or suggesting that the police or other authorities in the
Sudan have been looking for him in the interim. The complainant has not claimed, either
before the Swiss asylum authorities or in his complaint to the Committee, that any charges
would be brought against him under domestic law in the Sudan.
7.7
As regards the complainant’s political activities, the Committee notes the State
party’s argument that the complainant only established contact with the Justice and
Equality Movement in Switzerland and that his membership of, alleged activities relating to
and purported function within the Movement in Switzerland do not give rise to a particular
profile which would represent a risk of persecution, in particular as the complainant himself
has admitted that he was not a high-ranking member of the Movement. The Committee also
notes that, according to the State party, the complainant described his role in the Movement
in vague terms. In addition, his participation in the Movement’s meetings was documented
by only two photographs not taken in the presence of an audience and he only had contact
with the secretary-general of the Justice and Equality Movement in London on one
occasion, despite claiming to be in frequent contact with senior members of the Movement.
Moreover, he did not have a particular political profile that would make him a target of
persecution, or direct exposure to or contact with the Sudanese authorities. The Committee
further notes the complainant’s claim that the Sudanese authorities monitor opposition
members abroad, but observes that he has not elaborated on this claim or presented any
evidence to support it. In the Committee’s view, the complainant has failed to adduce
sufficient evidence about the conduct of any political activity of such significance that
would attract the interest of the Sudanese authorities and he has not submitted any other
evidence to demonstrate that the authorities in his home country are looking for him and
that he would face a personal risk of being tortured if returned to the Sudan. As to the
complainant’s allegation that he would be arrested and interrogated upon return to the
Sudan due to a long-term stay abroad and his applications for asylum, the Committee
recalls that the mere risk of being arrested and interrogated is not sufficient to conclude that
there is also a risk of being subjected to torture.34
7.8
The Committee recalls that it must ascertain whether the complainant currently runs
a risk of being subjected to torture if he were returned to the Sudan. 35 The Committee notes
that the complainant has had ample opportunity to provide supporting evidence and
additional details concerning his claims to the Federal Office of Migration and the Federal
Administrative Court, but that the evidence provided did not allow the national authorities
to conclude that his participation in political activities in Switzerland, while proven, would
expose him to a risk of being subjected to torture if returned to the Sudan. The Committee
also observes that the complainant did not submit that the national asylum proceedings
suffered from any irregularities. As regards the State party’s practice of accepting internal
relocation within the Sudan, the Committee draws attention to its jurisprudence, according
to which internal flight or relocation does not represent a reliable and durable alternative, in
particular where the lack of protection is generalized and the individual concerned would be
exposed to further risk of persecution or serious harm in another part of the State to which
he or she is being returned. 36 The Committee, however, recalls that the occurrence of
human rights violations in the complainant’s country of origin is not, of itself, sufficient for
it to conclude that an individual would be at a foreseeable, real and personal risk of being
tortured in the country to which he or she is returned. In the light of the foregoing, the
34
35
36
See, for example, P.Q.L. v. Canada (CAT/C/19/D/57/1996), para. 10.5.
See, for example, G.B.M. v. Sweden (CAT/C/49/D/435/2010), para. 7.7.
See, for example, Uttam Mondal v. Sweden (CAT/C/46/D/338/2008), para. 7.4; and M.K.M. v.
Australia (CAT/C/60/D/681/2015), para. 8.9.
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