CAT/C/57/D/605/2014
while at the same time it is not bound by such findings and instead has the power, by virtue
of article 22 (4) of the Convention, of free assessment of the facts based upon the full set of
circumstances in every case.25
9.5
The Committee notes the complainant’s claim that his forcible removal to Sri Lanka
would amount to a violation of his rights under article 3 of the Convention, as he would be
exposed to a risk of being tortured and suffering cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, particularly at the hands of the Criminal Investigation Department, the Sri
Lankan army or associated paramilitary groups, as he is suspected of being a member and
supporter of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The Committee also notes the State
party’s allegations that the complainant has not provided any relevant new evidence to the
Committee that had not already been considered through robust and comprehensive
domestic administrative and judicial processes. In that regard, the Committee notes the
State party’s submission that the migration authorities questioned the credibility of the
complainant’s statements due to inconsistencies in his testimony, including with regard to
his claims that he was harmed during the interview conducted in 2006, that he travelled
with Mr. K. to Kilinochchi, that he was interrogated in 2008 in connection with another
relative’s death and that he was looked for in 2011. The Committee further notes the State
party’s submission that the author had lived, worked and travelled in Sri Lanka without
harm, persecution or abduction at least from the end of the war until his departure in June
2012, and that he had never been accused of having any involvement with the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The Committee notes that the State party considered as evidence
that the author’s family members continue to live in Trincomalee without problems, and
also that it was not satisfied that the complainant’s connection with relatives killed during
the civil war, including Mr. K., would in the reasonably foreseeable future impute to him
any links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which would give rise to a real and
personal risk of serious harm in Sri Lanka. Moreover, the Committee takes into account the
State party’s assertions that the post-mortem report does not support the author’s claims,
since it does not contain any information to link the person referred to or the author to the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, while the State party’s doubts about the genuineness of
the post-mortem report remain undisputed.26
9.6
The Committee also notes the complainant’s claim that he is a member of a
Facebook group called “Cool Tamils”. However, the ministerial intervention proceedings
concluded that as the complainant was not perceived as an active Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam affiliate by the Sri Lankan authorities, it was highly unlikely that membership
of a Facebook group alone would attract adverse attention resulting in serious or significant
harm. In this connection, the Committee notes that the ministerial intervention was declined,
as there were no substantial grounds for believing that the complainant was at a foreseeable,
real and personal risk of torture if returned to Sri Lanka.
9.7
Furthermore, the Committee notes the complainant’s claim that as he left Sri Lanka
unlawfully, he fears being arrested by the Sri Lankan authorities upon arrival at Colombo
Airport, being subsequently detained in inhumane and degrading conditions at the
Negombo Remand Unit and facing charges and eventual imprisonment as an illegal
returnee or failed asylum seeker. The Committee notes that the State party accepted that the
complainant would go through a process upon returning to Sri Lanka and that he would be
subjected to a fine but not a custodial sentence for departing illegally. The Committee also
notes the State party’s claims that there were no reports of torture or other forms of
deliberate mistreatment at the Negombo Remand Unit, which were not disputed by the
complainant. In this connection, the Committee notes the complainant’s reliance on general
25
26
GE.16-09596
See, inter alia, communication No. 356/2008, N.S. v. Switzerland, decision adopted on 6 May 2010.
See para. 7.5, in which it is noted that the Department of Immigration and Border Protection assessed
the post-mortem report as appearing to be fraudulent.
13