CAT/C/62/D/683/2015
images of him were taken during the meetings of a small committee and only in the
presence of a few individuals. Moreover, the complainant himself stated that he did not take
the floor at the meeting held at the Volkshaus. Instead, he claimed to have helped to
organize the meeting and to contact the leaders of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front.
4.13 The State party recalls that the Federal Office for Migration and the Federal
Administrative Court concluded during the first asylum procedure that the complainant’s
allegations of his detention in the Sudan were not credible. According to the Federal
Administrative Court, the information provided by the complainant on his Justice and
Equality Movement role and activities was unconvincing. As part of the second asylum
application, the complainant indicated that he had been a member of the Movement since
late January 2013. However, Mr. Sharafedin’s letter of 25 March 2013 stated that the
complainant had been a member of the Movement since 15 July 2012. The State party
holds that the complainant has never provided clarification in that regard.
4.14 The State party maintains that the national authorities have carefully assessed the
alleged risk of persecution in case of the complainant’s return to the Sudan and that no new
allegations or evidence were submitted which could put the conclusion drawn into question.
Referring to the conclusions of the two asylum procedures, the State party claims that
considerable weight should be given to the findings of fact that were made by the organs of
the State party concerned, unless the appreciation of facts or evidence were manifestly
arbitrary or amounted to a denial of justice. 25 In this case, the complainant did not submit
that the national asylum proceedings suffered from any such irregularities. Moreover, the
decision on the forcible removal of the complainant to the Sudan is in line with the general
practice of the Swiss authorities with regard to persons who claim to have carried out
political activities in Switzerland prior to their removal.
4.15 In conclusion, the State party reiterates that there are no substantial grounds for
believing that the complainant would face a foreseeable, real and personal risk of being
subjected to torture or ill-treatment if returned to the Sudan. Consequently, the State party
requests the Committee to find that the complainant’s removal to the Sudan would not
amount to a violation of article 3 of the Convention by Switzerland.
Complainant’s comments on the State party’s observations
5.1
On 31 March 2016, the complainant submitted his comments in response to the State
party’s observations, in which he describes a confrontation between himself and a guard
while in detention. The guard insulted the complainant, who retaliated by trying to attack
the guard. Subsequently, the guard left the scene to search for a rifle and, when he came
back, hit the complainant over the legs. The complainant suffered from severe pain
thereafter. In addition, the complainant was taken to a nearby office, where he was
repeatedly beaten. As to his allegations in that regard, the complainant refers to the report
of an oral hearing of 28 March 2006 held during the first asylum procedure.
5.2
The complainant confirms the State party’s claim that he was not politically active
prior to his departure from the Sudan. However, he disputes the assertion that he was never
in conflict with the authorities, as he was detained for six months and described the
circumstances of that incident in detail; testimony that he considers attests to the credibility
of his allegations. He submits that the differences between first and second asylum hearings
should be considered carefully, in order not to be interpreted to the detriment of the asylum
seeker concerned.26 The complainant asserts that he described in detail the prison cell where
he was interrogated. The more detailed descriptions furnished during the second asylum
hearing should be considered as additional precisions rather than discrepancies. The
complainant submits that the purpose of the first asylum interview is rather general, as it is
meant to be an opportunity to provide information on identity, journey of arrival, etc. The
complainant explains that he was not able to describe the medical treatment received by his
injured brother while in prison since it was provided away from the complainant’s cell. He
25
26
See, for example, J.A.M.O. v. Canada (CAT/C/40/D/293/2006), para. 10.5; and Ktiti v. Morocco,
(CAT/C/46/D/419/2010), para. 8.7.
See European Court of Human Rights, M.A. v. Switzerland (application No. 52589/13), judgment of
18 November 2014, para. 60.
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