CAT/C/61/D/625/2014
into account that, as he indicated to the authorities of the State party, he could not
remember many events clearly because of the blows he suffered to his head while being
tortured. Therefore, by denying him a medical examination, the Board did not respect the
principle of the “benefit of the doubt”, and applied a wrong standard of proof. The
complainant further submits that it is not possible to obtain a medical certificate indicating
that a person has been tortured because of his or her activities. Application of the principle
of the “benefit of the doubt” and the possibility to undergo a medical examination to
confirm that torture had taken place were essential in his case. 32 The complainant also
indicates that the State party’s authorities have authorized this kind of medical examination
in only two cases during the year 2015.33 He claims that, taking into account that, in 2015,
the number of asylum applications was very high, it is questionable that the authorities
should only have found it necessary to carry out medical examinations in such a limited
number of cases.34
5.6
The complainant further indicates that, according to a new bill introduced into
Parliament amending the Acts on Legal Aid and the Administration of Justice in respect of
lodging and pursuing complaints with the international complaints bodies set up under
human rights conventions, cases like his are excluded from legal aid. According to this bill,
when the Board decides not to authorize a medical examination, this cannot be invoked as a
ground to submit a complaint to the Committee.
State party’s further submission
6.1
On 29 March 2017, the State party reiterated that the complaint was inadmissible
and that it did not disclose any violation of the Convention. It further indicates that in his
comments, the complainant has not provided any new information on the grounds for his
asylum application, in particular in relation to his conflicts in his country of origin. It refers
to R.K. v. Australia,35 in which the Committee indicated that the risk of torture must be
assessed on grounds that go beyond mere theory or suspicion, and that while the risk does
not have to meet the test of being highly probable, the burden of proof generally falls on the
complainant, who must present an arguable case that he or she faces a foreseeable, real and
personal risk. In addition, considerable weight should be given to the findings of the organs
of the State party concerned. The State party further argues that the complainant has failed
to establish that the assessment made by the Board was arbitrary or amounted to manifest
error or a denial of justice, and reiterates that the complainant has also failed to identify any
irregularity committed by the authorities during his asylum proceedings. 36
6.2
The State party refers to S.A.P. v. Switzerland,37 in which the Committee considered
that, although the complainants alleged that they had suffered serious injuries and posttraumatic stress disorder as a result of persecution in their country of origin, they had not
provided sufficient evidence to allow it to conclude that such injuries had been caused by
the alleged acts of persecution by the authorities of their country of origin. 38
6.3
The State party further notes that, even in cases in which medical examinations,
including those carried out by Amnesty International Danish Medical Group, indicate that
the injuries of an asylum seeker are consistent with his or her statements in relation to
torture, if the Board disregards the asylum seeker’s account because it cannot in any way be
considered as fact that either he or she has been involved in politics or that any such
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
8
The complainant refers to F.K. v. Denmark. See para. 5.2 above.
The complainant does not provide further information on this matter.
Ibid.
See communication No. 609/2014, R.K. v. Australia, decision adopted on 11 August 2016, para. 8.4.
The State party refers to the jurisprudence of the Human Rights Committee, according to which it is
generally for the organs of the State party to review and evaluate facts and evidence in order to
determine whether a risk exists, unless it is found that the national authorities’ evaluation was clearly
arbitrary or amounted to a denial of justice. See communications No. 2378/2014, A.S.M et al. v.
Denmark, Views adopted on 7 July 2016; No. 2272/2013, P.T. v. Denmark, Views adopted on 1 April
2015; and No. 2426/2014, N. v. Denmark, decision adopted on 23 July 2015.
See communication No. 565/2013, S.A.P. et al. v. Switzerland, decision adopted on 25 November
2015, para. 7.4.
See M.O. v. Denmark and Cruz Varas and others v. Sweden, para. 4.7.