CCPR/C/114/D/2389/2014 Author’s comments on the State party’s observations 5.1 On 8 December 2014 and 26 January 2015, the author submitted his comments on the State party’s observations. The author claims that he and his family had been granted the status of refugees by UNHCR since the late 1970s/early 1980s, and that the facts that the author had had his refugee certificate renewed in 2011 and that his remaining family in Iraq had obtained another renewal in 2013 means that UNHCR had not found any grounds to suspend their protection. 5.2. The author further indicates that, in recent years, there have not been known cases of Iranian Kurds being returned to the Islamic Republic of Iran from refugee camps in the Kurdish region in Iraq, even though they live under very bad conditions in Iraq. The author considers that this is due to their fear of prosecution upon their return to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Furthermore, residents of the Al-Tash and Barika refugee camps are assimilated to Kurdish opposition groups as there is a general supposition that they are somehow affiliated to these groups. 5.3 The author questions the State party’s affirmation that he failed to demonstrate that he would be subject to torture or ill-treatment if returned to the Islamic Republic of Iran, as the reports quoted by the State party itself14 consistently establish that refugees from the AlTash and Barika camps would be at such risk if returned to the Islamic Republic of Iran. For instance, the reports clearly state that all refugee camps in the Kurdish region in Iraq have connections to the political parties that are somehow active in the camps, and that people from the camps will be looked at with suspicion if they return to the Islamic Republic of Iran.17 According to another source included in the reports referred to by the State party and quoted by the author, if an Iranian Kurd with links to the Al-Tash camp and who lived in Northern Iraq for many years returned to the Islamic Republic of Iran, he or she would come under enormous suspicions by the Iranian authorities. Besides, if such a person wished to return and had a family member who had been a Kurdish activist at some point, he or she could become a person of interest for the Iranian authorities.18 The author further claims that, in its observations, the State party quoted passages from the reports that are not applicable to the case before the Committee, since they related to former members of the Mujaheddin e Khalq organization and other refugees who had a different history and different political views from those of the refugees from the Al-Tash refugee camp. 5.4 The author challenges the State party’s statement that the author or his family had not been involved in political activities to an extent that would put him at risk of being subject to torture or ill-treatment if returned to the Islamic Republic of Iran. The author notes that he is a member of the Kurdistan Freedom Party, that his father became a member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan when he arrived in Iraq, and that he is still a member of that party.19 In addition, the author notes that two of his uncles, one aunt and his two grandparents on his mother’s side have been recognized as political refugees in Sweden. Therefore, for the author it is clear that he and his family would be considered as politically active by Iranian authorities and, consequently, they would be at risk of persecution in the Islamic Republic of Iran. 17 18 19 Danish Immigration Services and the Danish Refugee Council, Iranian Kurds: On conditions for Iranian Kurdish Parties in Iran and the Kurdish region in Iraq, Activities in the Kurdish Area of Iran, Conditions in Border Area and Situation of Returnees from the Kurdish region in Iraq to Iran, 30 May to 9 June 2013, p. 73. Danish Immigration Service, Landinfo and the Danish Refugee Council, Iran: On Conversion to Christianity, Issues concerning Kurds and post-2009 election protestors as well as legal issues and exit procedures, 2013, p. 46. The author submitted a copy of his father’s Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan membership card. 9