A/HRC/19/61/Add.4 Uzbekistan, on the basis that they had been tortured there before. Article 3 of the UN Convention against Torture holds that no State party shall expel, return (“refouler”), or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be in danger of being subjected to torture. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government for its explanation of the administrative and judicial proceedings undertaken to determine the fate of this group of refugees and appreciates that the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees was allowed to take part in the process. The Special Rapporteur believes, in any case, that prior history of persecution is highly relevant to the determination of risk and cautions that diplomatic assurances of favorable treatment from the receiving country does not mitigate the State‟s obligation to refrain from refoulement. (b) JUA 24/08/2011 Case No. KAZ 3/2011 State reply: None to date Alleged extradition and risk of torture. 91. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of Kazakhstan failed to respond to the communication dated 24 August 2011 concerning the then upcoming extradition of Mr. X , a national of the Republic of Uzbekistan. In accordance with article 3 of the UN Convention against Torture, the Special Rapporteur would like to draw the attention of the Government to paragraph 9 of General Comment No. 20 on the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in which the Human Rights Committee states that State parties “must not expose individuals to the danger of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment upon return to another country by way of extradition, expulsion or refoulement”. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the Special Rapporteur fears that the situation of Mr. X resulted in violation of rights protected by the UN Convention against Torture. Given the context and concerns of Mr. X being subjected to torture and harsh sentences, including life imprisonment, in case of extradition, the Special Rapporteur calls on the Government to ensure that rights and security of Mr. X are respected. Kuwait JUA 04/07/2011 Case No. KWT 1/2011 State reply: None to date Alleged arbitrary detention and ill-treatment for the peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of expression. 92. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of Kuwait has not responded to the communication dated 4 July 2011, thereby withholding cooperation with the mandate established by Human Rights Council. The communication referred to the alleged illtreatment and incommunicado detention of Mr. Nasser Abul, an online activist, for four days following his arrest on 7 June 2011, for posting messages on his Twitter account. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, the Special Rapporteur is of the view that there has been a violation of Mr. Nasser Abul under the UN Convention against Torture. The Special Rapporteur would like to draw the attention of the Government to paragraph 1 of Human Rights Council Resolution 16/23 and urges the Government to cease the practice of incommunicado detention. The Special Rapporteur calls on the Government to ensure the accountability of those responsible and to prevent the recurrence of these acts. 40