CAT/C/50/D/467/2011
Movement. The first complainant has stated, however, that he had not actively participated
in the movements against the oppression of the South before his alleged arrest on 21 May
2009.
4.12 The State party also notes the second complainant’s own assertion that she had left
Yemen for the sole purpose of following and accompanying her husband. As for herself,
she has not experienced any problems with the Yemeni authorities, but was frightened
when officers visited their home searching for her husband. In addition, she has never been
politically active.
4.13 As to the first complainant’s political activities in Switzerland, the State party notes
that he claims in his complaint to the Committee to have actively supported the cause of the
South Yemeni community since his arrival in Switzerland. He claims to be a member of the
Southern Democratic Assembly and to be responsible for the organization’s public relations
in the canton of Fribourg. As part of his political activities, he participated in several
meetings of this organization as well as demonstrations organized by it. In this regard, the
first complainant provided an attestation of affiliation issued on 22 January 2011 by the
Southern Democratic Assembly in the United Kingdom, and an attestation issued on 23
January 2011 by the office of the former President of the Democratic Republic of Yemen,
as well as photographs and articles about demonstrations attended by him.
4.14 The State party’s asylum authorities have found that the evidence submitted by the
first complainant was insufficient to render credible his alleged future risk of being
subjected to ill-treatment. It adds that both attestations issued by the Southern Democratic
Assembly in the United Kingdom should be considered as written by complaisance.
Although the second attestation mentions that the first complainant is indeed active in this
organization, it fails to specify either his activities or his role. It states simply that the return
of the first complainant to Yemen constitutes a high risk, without providing any
substantiation in support of this statement.
4.15 According to the evidence submitted, the activities of the first complainant are
mainly limited to his participation in five demonstrations organized by the Southern
Democratic Assembly or other exiles originating from South Yemen. With reference to the
judgement of the Federal Administrative Court of 27 May 2011, the State party submits that
there is concrete evidence that the activities of the Southern Democratic Assembly have
been closely observed by the Yemeni authorities in the past and that some particularly
active persons or members of the governing structures of the organization could have been
exposed to harm if returned to their country of origin. However, the first complainant has
not established that he played in this organization a role likely to attract the attention of the
authorities. He appears to be a mere participant of demonstrations organized by the Swiss
branch of the Southern Democratic Assembly. However, such demonstrations being
numerous not only in Switzerland but also in other countries, it is virtually impossible for
the Yemeni authorities to focus not only on persons deemed to be opinion leaders, but also
on each of the demonstrators appearing in such a context. The State party’s asylum
authorities established that his political activities in Switzerland were not of such
significance that he could be identified by the Yemeni authorities as a well-known
opponent of the existing regime. Even the first complainant’s position as head of public
relations of the Southern Democratic Assembly in the canton of Fribourg is not of such
significance that it would make him particularly vulnerable.
4.16 Furthermore, the State party adds that the photographs of demonstrations that are
accessible on the Internet do not allow the conclusion that the Yemeni authorities have
taken note of the first complainant’s activities in Switzerland. The sole fact that he is
identifiable on the photographs is not enough to demonstrate a risk of ill-treatment in case
of return. It is also difficult, for obvious practical reasons, to identify individual participants
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