CAT/C/62/D/688/2015 5.9 In respect of his work for the secret service in Ethiopia, the complainant states that he never claimed that he was a high-ranking official with detailed inside knowledge. During the substantive asylum interview, the complainant described the scope of his responsibilities and everything he experienced within the secret service: he first had to take training courses and then was given the task of reviewing, typing up and forwarding reports about suspected dissidents to superiors. These reports sometimes led to the arrest of suspected dissidents, but the complainant did not make that decision. 5.10 Concerning his inability to provide a physical description of his superiors, the complainant points out that he was never asked such a question during the substantive asylum interview. In those interviews, the asylum seeker is not in a position to speak freely, but has to answer the questions raised. He submits that his interview was already extraordinarily long and exceeded the regular office hours. The record of his interview shows that he answered all the questions posed and that there was no question regarding a physical description of his superiors. The complainant would have given such a description if he had been asked to do so. 5.11 In response to the comments by the State party on his composure during the asylum interview, the complainant submits several parts of the interview record in which it is noted that at times he became very emotional and had to take short breaks. The complainant states that he struggled in particular when he had to speak about his torture and his visits to the torture victims who had been arrested because of his reports. It should be recalled that since the complainant was himself a victim of torture, recounting torture inevitably had a retraumatizing effect and influenced his ability to respond to subsequent questions. Nevertheless, the complainant states that he tried to provide answers to all the questions raised during the interview. 5.12 In respect of his political activities in Switzerland, the complainant states that he regularly publishes on human rights abuses taking place in Ethiopia on ESAT, which is being monitored by the Ethiopian secret service. He adds that he is an active member of Ginbot 7 and regularly attends meetings, about three times a month. He recently performed a security function at a fundraising event in Bern when Berhanu Nega, a leading figure of Ginbot 7, visited Switzerland. In view of the recent crackdown on political dissents and arrests of bloggers and journalists in Ethiopia, he claims that his critical publications and poems, along with his membership of Ginbot 7, make it highly probable that the Ethiopian Government has taken note of him. 5.13 As concerns the State party’s allegations about factual incoherence regarding his flight to Switzerland and the time taken to travel from Madrid to Paris by train, the complainant finds such information irrelevant to the core of his account. 5.14 In addition, the complainant, describing the general human rights situations in Ethiopia, submits that the Government arbitrarily arrested and intimidated journalists and bloggers and also used a foreign technology firm to spy on journalists and media platforms such as ESAT, on which the complainant has appeared in interviews and discussions. Referring to the arrest of a blogger who criticized the “Ethiopian Government’s carefully constructed image as a thriving developing State”, the complainant claims that he has attracted the attention of the Government as he has posted similarly critical comments online. Furthermore, he submits that in a report on Ethiopia 6 Human Rights Watch described the course of torture inflicted on detainees in a manner which is consistent with the account of torture he gave during the asylum interview: detainees were interrogated during the first or following nights and then released after several weeks or months, as was the complainant. 5.15 In conclusion, the complainant, who was a former agent of the secret service for the Government and is now a high-profile political activist and blogger with positions criticizing the Government, claims that he is at real, personal and foreseeable risk of torture if he were to return to Ethiopia. The complainant submits that his removal would amount to a violation of article 3 of the Convention. 6 “Such a Brutal Crackdown”: Killings and Arrests in Response to Ethiopia’s Oromo Protests, 15 June 2016, p. 37. 7