CCPR/C/122/D/2753/2016 prior to 2001. If arrested again, the life of the author and his associates in the movement would be in great danger. At that time, both Mr. Wang and the author decided to escape China. 2.6 Because of the condition of his autistic son, the author could not risk exiting illegally. He decided to wait until he could obtain a legal visa based on an invitation from his sisters in Denmark. He left in December of 2012. In March 2013, after the author’s arrival in Denmark, the Chinese police ransacked his ex-wife’s home and inquired about the author, who was under suspicion of participating in illegal activities infringing national security. 2.7 The author was interviewed by the Danish Immigration Service on 7 May 2013. The Immigration Service refused asylum to the author on 20 June 2013. He appealed the decision to the Danish Refugee Appeals Board. On 4 September 2013, the Board upheld the negative decision of the Immigration Service, which did not include a deportation order since the author had in parallel filed an application for residence on humanitarian grounds owing to his son’s autistic condition. That application was pending with the Ministry of Justice at the time of the Board’s decision. The Board in their decisions regarded as facts the experiences of the author, in particular his activity for a pro-democracy movement from 1998 until his departure, and accepted that the applicant had continued to carry out activities aimed at strengthening the forces opposed to the communist regime, and that he had had contact with persons who shared his view of the political situation through his religious activities. However, the majority of the Board’s members did not accept as a fact that, after his departure, the author had attracted the attention of the Chinese authorities in such manner that he would risk persecution justifying asylum in case of his return to China. 2.8 During the hearing, the legal counsel of the author requested that his older sister Elena Luo be allowed to provide a brief witness account before the Board. This request was rejected. The author’s sister wanted to clarify his experiences and explain how the torture he had suffered had weakened him, impaired his hearing and his ability to concentrate. 2.9 In December 2013, the author joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) where he practised Christianity because he found there a resemblance to the Meixin Church of which he was a member in China. The author also participated in a demonstration against the Chinese Communist Party regime on 1 October 2014. At the demonstration, he held two posters saying “We need democracy” and “Communist one party dictatorship get out”. Photos of the author holding the posters at the demonstration in Denmark have been posted publicly on two websites. 2.10 On 7 February 2014, the Danish Ministry of Justice refused the author’s application for residence on humanitarian grounds. On 29 July 2015, the Ministry of Justice refused the author’s request to have his case reopened concerning residence on humanitarian grounds under section 9 (b) of the Aliens Act. The author and his son were told they had to leave Denmark by the end of July 2015. 2.11 On 1 September 2015, the author’s counsel requested that the Board reopen his asylum case in order to consider the information provided by the author’s sisters; the participation of the author at demonstrations against China, in Denmark; and the fact that he had been baptized as a Mormon. On 24 September 2015, the Board refused the author’s request to have his case reopened. The Board considered that the sisters did not have any new information; that there was no information about specific exposure of the author in the demonstrations; and that the information about his religious and political activities had only been presented before his planned departure. 2.12 In autumn 2015, the author made the last application to the Immigration Service, on the grounds that, over two years, his son had successfully integrated at a special school for autistic children. On 18 December 2015, the Immigration Service rejected the author’s application for residence for exceptional reasons. Since then, the author and his son have been at risk of deportation at any time. 2.13 The author further claims that, in December 2015, he received a telephone call from the leader of the pro-democracy movement in China. That person allegedly informed him that his former colleague, Mr. Wang, had been arrested by communist agents in Hong Kong 3