CAT/C/33/D/223/2002 Page 5 certificates and records and a copy of what was purported to be a certificate issued by a Mr. Khan, a Member of Parliament in Bangladesh and member of the central committee of the Jatiya Party, indicating that he had been tortured and needed protection. 4.7 On 3 June 2002 the Board rejected the appeal. It held that the material before it did not support that the complainant was to be considered a refugee, nor that there was a risk that he would be exposed to inhuman or degrading treatment in accordance with the Aliens Act. It further concluded that there were no grounds for granting him a residence permit for humanitarian reasons. In September 2002, the complainant filed a new application with the Aliens Appeals Board in which he asserted that an enforcement of the expulsion order would be contrary to the requirements of humanity. This new application was rejected on 15 October 2002. 4.8 The State party indicates that it is not aware of the same matter having been examined under another procedure of international investigation or settlement and that all available domestic remedies have been exhausted. It maintains, however, that the complaint should be considered inadmissible in accordance with article 22, paragraph 2 of the Convention, as it lacks the minimum substantiation that would render it compatible with article 22. 4.9 On the merits, the State party refers to the human rights situation in Bangladesh. It stated that, while remaining problematic, the situation had improved. Following the introduction of democratic changes in the early 1990’s, no systematic repression of dissidents has been reported and a wide variety of human rights groups were generally permitted to conduct their activities. However, violence has been a pervasive element in the country’s politics and supporters of different parties frequently clash with each other during rallies and demonstrations. The police reportedly use physical and psychological torture during arrest and interrogation and the perpetrators are rarely punished. The police is also said to be reluctant to pursue investigations against people affiliated with the ruling party, and the Government frequently uses the police for political purposes. Arbitrary arrests are common and lower level courts are considered to be susceptible to pressures from the Executive. The higher levels of the Judiciary, however, display a significant degree of independence and often rule against the Government in criminal, civil and even politically controversial cases. While high profile individuals could be arrested and harassed by the police, persecution for political reasons is of rare occurrence at the grass-root level. Court cases based on false accusations are common, but were primarily directed towards senior party officials. Individuals active in politics at the grass-root level can avoid harassment by relocating within the country. 4.10 The State party contends that the Swedish authorities apply the same kind of test when considering an application for asylum under the Aliens Act as the Committee will do when examining a complaint under the Convention. In its decision of 3 June 2002 the Aliens Appeals Board concluded that the evidentiary standard to be applied by it in deciding the complainant’s appeal under the Aliens Act corresponded to that established by the Committee under article 3 of the Convention. 4.11 Between 1990 and 2000, 1427 requests for asylum were filed by Bangladesh citizens in Sweden. Residence permits were granted in 629 cases, inter alia on the