CAT/C/30/D/190/2001 page 7 4.9 The State party observes that the complainant’s account of his detention and escape, in that there was no guard in the evening and that he was able to escape into a garbage truck without encountering any problems, are inconsistent with the detention of a person under sentence of death. 4.10 The State party considers that the jurisprudence of the Committee related to the issue of inconsistencies and contradictions made by victims of torture in their account of past abuses is not applicable to the present case because the complainant’s alleged contradictions relate to essential parts of his persecutions. 4.11 Concerning the medical reports submitted by the complainant, the State party argues that they conflict with the complainant’s lack of credibility regarding his reasons for seeking asylum. The State party therefore considers that it is not necessary to examine whether the alleged physical symptoms are indicative of torture and thus relevant for the assessment of the complainant’s claim and that it is incumbent to the complainant to demonstrate their relevance by presenting a credible claim. Moreover, physicians make their medical findings solely within the limited context of the statements made to them so that the causes of the complainant’s medical situation cannot be ascertained objectively. 4.12 Finally, the State party considers that the complainant has not demonstrated that, since his arrival in the Netherlands, his sexual preference has come to the attention of the Iranian authorities, and referring again to the reports made by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs according to which homosexuality remains a social taboo in Iran, that it is implausible that K.H.’s family would have reported to the authorities about the reasons for his death. The complainant has not further demonstrated that he is likely to be imprisoned in Iran, let alone tortured, because of the murder of K.H. committed in another country. Counsel’s comments 5.1 In a submission dated 30 May 2002, the complainant transmitted his comments on the observations of the State party. 5.2 Regarding the absence of known cases of recent prosecutions solely on a charge of homosexuality, the complainant emphasizes that this does not mean that there are not any and that it is known that Iranian authorities are reluctant to give information about criminal prosecutions. Moreover, according to an Amnesty International report transmitted to the State party on 7 November 2001, 100 people were tortured in Iran only in July 2001, at least 10 people were hanged and 100 death sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court. As the background of these incidents is most of the time difficult to ascertain, homosexuality may in some cases have been at issue. 5.3 The complainant underlines the State party’s observation that homosexual acts are often prosecuted together with other criminal charges. He states that this is exactly what he expects to happen in his case since the body of his partner was repatriated to Iran. This will give the Iranian authorities a reason to add a criminal charge of murder to that of homosexuality. The complainant considers that the murder he committed constitutes in itself a risk of being tortured if returned to Iran and that the fact that he has already been punished in the Netherlands is irrelevant.

Select target paragraph3