CAT/C/50/D/467/2011 the opposite. In addition, they refer to a number of recent reports 10 indicating that torture and other ill-treatment are widespread practices in Yemen and that they are committed, generally with impunity, against detainees held in connection with politically motivated acts, peaceful demonstrations or ordinary criminal offences. 5.2 With regard to the State party’s arguments that the first complainant has not been able to prove that he would face a foreseeable, personal and real risk of being subjected to torture if returned to Yemen, and that the attestations provided by him to the asylum authorities have been written by complaisance, the first complainant recalls that he handed in several official documents in support of his allegations and that these allegations find confirmation in independent reports. The State party, however, has not substantiated its claim that these documents may be inauthentic. In particular, there are no specific indications of falsification. As to the State party’s criticism that the attestations do not indicate the source of the information that they contain, the complainants argue that since it is impossible for them to prove the authenticity of these documents, they must be accepted as evidence until proven inauthentic. 5.3 In relation to the State party’s assertion that the first complainant did not take part in significant political activity before his departure from Yemen, except for the demonstration that led to his arrest, the first complainant recalls that he was a member of the Yemeni Socialist Party before the unification of Yemen. He adds that, while his statement that he was a member in order to obtain certain privileges clearly implies that he did not agree with the views of the Yemeni Socialist Party, he also stated during the asylum interviews that he always had a certain “internal anger”, meaning that he was unhappy with the political situation and wanted things to change. The first complainant submits that the demonstration in the course of which he had been beaten and arrested together with his earlier membership in the Yemeni Socialist Party were apparently enough to make him a target of the Yemeni authorities. Moreover, irrespective of his previous political motivation, it does not take much to trigger the suspicion of the Yemeni authorities and to consequently face torture or other ill-treatment. 5.4 The first complainant further submits that the attestation issued on 22 January 2011 by the Southern Democratic Assembly in the United Kingdom states, inter alia, that his previous political activities and his membership in the Southern Democratic Assembly has made him a target of the Yemeni security service. 5.5 As to the State party’s arguments summarized in paragraphs 4.15 and 4.16 above, the first complainant submits that he holds an important position in the Southern Democratic Assembly in the canton of Fribourg and adds that there are reasons to believe that he will be apprehended upon his return to Yemen due to his past experiences in that country. Moreover, a simple search on the Internet could reveal his political activities in exile. The first complainant recalls his initial claims that he comes from a politically active family and that his family name alone is sufficient to trigger the suspicion of the Yemeni authorities (see paragraph 3.4 above). Furthermore, due to his detention in Yemen after the demonstration of 21 May 2009, it is very likely that he is known to the Yemeni authorities and will therefore be identified by them upon arrival. 5.6 Concerning the credibility of the explanations given by the first complainant as to how he left Yemen, he submits that the friend who helped him organize the departure put himself at a risk. The first complainant adds that there is no reason why this should not be 10 See UN News Centre, “New outbreak of violence displaces thousands more in Yemen – UN refugee agency”, 9 March 2012, available at http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=41500; and Amnesty International, Yemen: Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee, 104th session of the Human Rights Committee, 12–30 March 2012, London, 2012. 11