CAT/C/62/D/688/2015
real and personal risk (para. 6).8 The Committee further recalls that, in accordance with its
general comment No. 1, it gives considerable weight to findings of fact that are made by the
organs of the State party concerned, while at the same time it is not bound by such findings
and instead has the power, under article 22 (4) of the Convention, of free assessment of the
facts based upon the full set of circumstances in each case. 9
8.5
The complainant claims that in Ethiopia he could be persecuted or subjected to
torture because of his past involvement with and resignation from the secret service, and his
membership of Ginbot 7 and political activities in Switzerland. He refers to the torture that
he underwent in Ethiopia after resigning from the secret service. He adds that Ginbot 7 was
declared to be a terrorist organization in 2011 and that even ordinary members of Ginbot 7
may be arbitrarily arrested and subjected to abuse in prison.
8.6
In the present case, the Committee notes that the complainant claims to have been
arrested and severely ill-treated in prison because of his resignation from the secret service
of the Ethiopian Government and that, following the conclusion of the national asylum
procedure, he submitted medical reports which indicate that his hip injury could have been
sustained in the manner consistent with his account of torture. The Committee also notes
that, according to the State party, the complainant did not provide either a sufficiently
precise description of his work for the secret service or tangible evidence demonstrating
that he actually had worked for the secret service, and that his accounts did not demonstrate
knowledge of how the secret service functioned. In this connection, the Committee notes
that, according to the State party, the complainant’s statements contained factual
inconsistencies about the time that had elapsed between his resignation and his arrest and
about the content of documents he signed prior to his release that undermine the credibility
of his allegations. The Committee further notes that, according to the State party, the
complainant’s political activities in Switzerland do not constitute lasting and intense
activity that could be considered a serious threat to the Ethiopian Government. The
Committee further notes the complainant’s claim that the Ethiopian authorities do monitor
opposition members abroad, but observes that he has not elaborated on this claim or
presented any evidence to support it. It also takes note of psychiatric reports concerning his
diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder and the alleged lack of psychological composure
during the asylum interview.
8.7
The Committee recalls that it must ascertain whether the complainant currently runs
a risk of being subjected to torture if he were returned to Ethiopia. 10 The Committee notes
that the complainant has had ample opportunity to provide supporting evidence and more
details about his claims, including medical certificates, at the national level to the Federal
Office of Migration and the Federal Administrative Court, but that the evidence provided
did not allow the national asylum authorities to conclude that the purported past exposure to
torture would expose him to a risk of being subjected to torture if returned to Ethiopia. The
Committee observes that the complainant did not submit that the national asylum
proceedings had suffered from any irregularities. Accordingly, the Committee observes that
the complainant has failed to adduce sufficient evidence of his work for the secret service
and to adequately substantiate that his participation in political activities in Switzerland,
including critical publications and poems presented on ESAT and ordinary membership of
Ginbot 7, would be of such significance as would attract the real interest of the Ethiopian
authorities, nor has he submitted any evidence to demonstrate that the Ethiopian authorities
are looking for him or that he would face a personal risk of being tortured if returned to his
country of origin. The Committee is concerned at the many reports of human rights
violations, including the use of torture, in Ethiopia 11 and the crackdown on political
8
9
10
11
See also A.R. v. Netherlands (CAT/C/31/D/203/2002, para. 7.3; Kalonzo v. Canada
(CAT/C/48/D/343/2008), para. 9.3; X v. Denmark (CAT/C/53/D/458/2011), para. 9.3; and W.G.D. v.
Canada (CAT/C/53/D/520/2012), para. 8.4.
See general comment No. 1, para. 9; T.D. v. Switzerland (CAT/C/46/D/375/2009), para. 8.7; and Alp
v. Denmark (CAT/C/52/D/466/2011), para. 8.3.
See, for example, G.B.M. v. Sweden (CAT/C/49/D/435/2010), para. 7.7.
The Committee notes that Ethiopia is also a State party to the Convention, and recalls its concluding
observations (CAT/C/ETH/CO/1) adopted in 2010, paras. 10–14.
9