CCPR/C/118/D/2608/2015 needs, and from the hardship and destitution which they have already experienced in Bulgaria, and which would now also affect their baby. 40 7.8 The Committee recalls that States parties should give sufficient weight to the real and personal risk a person might face if deported 41 and considers that it was incumbent upon the State party to undertake an individualized assessment of the risk that the authors and their child would face in Bulgaria, rather than rely on general reports and on the assumption that as the authors had benefited from subsidiary protection in the past, they would, in principle, be entitled to the same level of protection today. The Committee considers that the State party failed to take into due consideration that the authors were mistreated by Bulgarian officers upon arrival; that the male author was the victim of an apparently racially motivated attack and was unable to file a complaint to the police, as he was not allowed access to the police station; and that he was denied medical care for his heart disease. The Committee also notes that the authors have a 1-year-old baby and considers that those circumstances put them in a particularly vulnerable situation that was not sufficiently taken into account by the Refugee Appeals Board, and that their deportation to Bulgaria would be a source of retraumatization for them. The Committee further notes that in the absence of any assistance from the national authorities when they were in Bulgaria, the authors were not able to provide for themselves, notwithstanding their entitlement to subsidiary and refugee protection The Committee further notes that the State party failed to seek proper assurances from the Bulgarian authorities to ensure that the authors and their baby would be received in conditions compatible with their status as refugees and with the guarantees under article 7 of the Covenant, by requesting that Bulgaria undertake (a) to receive the authors and their child in conditions adapted to the baby’s age and the family’s vulnerable status, enabling them to remain in Bulgaria;42 (b) to issue a residence permit to the authors’ baby; and (c) to take the necessary measures to ensure that the male author receives the medical treatment that he needs. 7.9 Consequently, the Committee considers that, in these particular circumstances, the removal of the authors and their child to Bulgaria, without proper assurances, would amount to a violation of article 7 of the Covenant. 8. The Committee, acting under article 5 (4) of the Optional Protocol, is of the view that the deportation of the authors and their child to Bulgaria would violate their rights under article 7 of the Covenant. 9. In accordance with article 2 (1) of the Covenant, which establishes that States parties undertake to respect and ensure to all individuals within their territory and subject to their jurisdiction the rights recognized in the Covenant, the State party is under an obligation to proceed to a review of the authors’ claim, taking into account the State party’s obligations under the Covenant, the Committee’s present Views and the need to obtain assurances from Bulgaria, as set out in paragraph 7.8 above. The State party is also requested to refrain from expelling the authors and their baby to Bulgaria while their request for asylum is being reconsidered.43 10. Bearing in mind that, by becoming a party to the Optional Protocol, the State party has recognized the competence of the Committee to determine whether there has been a 40 41 42 43 See Jasin v. Denmark, para. 8.8, and Obah Hussein Ahmed v. Denmark, para. 13.7; and communication No. 2409/2014, Abubakar Ali et al. v. Denmark, Views adopted on 29 March 2016, para. 7.7. See for example, communication No. 1763/2008, Pillai v. Canada, Views adopted on 25 March 2011, paras. 11.2 and 11.4, and Abubakar Ali et al. v. Denmark, para. 7.8. See Jasin v. Denmark, para. 8.9, and Abubakar Ali et al v. Denmark, para. 7.8. See, for example, Abubakar Ali et al v. Denmark, para. 9, and Obah Hussein Ahmed v. Denmark, para. 15. 13