CCPR/C/119/D/2613/2015 concerning a violation of article 9 admissible to the extent that, in the circumstances of the present case, the removal of the author may subject him to a real risk of irreparable harm such as that contemplated by articles 6 and 7 of the Covenant.56 7.7 Accordingly, the Committee declares the author’s claims under articles 6, 7 and 9, read alone and in conjunction with article 2 (3) of the Covenant, to be admissible and proceeds to its consideration on the merits. Consideration of the merits 8.1 The Committee has considered the communication in the light of all the information made available to it by the parties, as provided for under article 5 (1) of the Optional Protocol. 8.2 The Committee notes the author’s claim that his removal to El Salvador would expose him to a risk of irreparable harm, in violation of articles 6 and 7 of the Covenant. The author claims that he became a target of the MS-13 gang owing to his participation in the investigation of the murder of his brother in 1993, which resulted in the conviction and imprisonment for 10 years of three MS-13 gang members involved in the murder, and a series of attacks against him and threats against his family. 8.3 The Committee notes the author’s submission that threats towards his wife and daughters have continued since he left El Salvador, including requests for money in exchange for his daughters not being hurt, and that those threats have required his daughters to be home schooled. 57 It also notes the author’s argument that the negative 2015 preremoval risk assessment decision contained multiple errors and did not accord sufficient weight to the evidence provided. 8.4 The Committee notes the State party’s argument that the Immigration and Refugee Board found that the author was inadmissible to Canada on security grounds owing to his membership in the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front when it was considered, prior to 1992, to be an “organization believed to engage in or instigate the subversion by force of any Government”. However, it also notes that, since 1992, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front has been a legal political party in El Salvador and that the State party does not provide any information that would enable the Committee to conclude that the author currently represents a threat to national security. Furthermore, the Committee notes that no justification or extenuating circumstances may be invoked to excuse a violation of the State party’s non-refoulement obligations.58 Those obligations accordingly cannot be overridden by any threat the author allegedly may have posed. Any such a threat would have to be addressed, if necessary, through other means that are compatible with the State party’s obligations under the Covenant. 8.5 The Committee notes the State party’s argument that three pre-removal risk assessment officers, upheld by the Federal Court, found that the author did not face a personal risk at the hands of the MS-13 gang and that he had failed to rebut the presumption of State protection in El Salvador with clear and convincing evidence. It also notes the State party’s argument that the author has not demonstrated that the alleged incidents between 2003 and 2005 mean that he would face a risk of irreparable harm if returned today, particularly considering that El Salvador has implemented a series of measures to suppress gang activity since the author’s departure. 8.6 The Committee notes the State party’s argument that, should this be required, the author could seek police protection for himself in El Salvador and that there is insufficient evidence to find that there are no internal flight alternatives available to him. It also notes the State party’s argument that the author has not identified any ways in which the preremoval risk assessment decisions were manifestly arbitrary or otherwise amounted to a denial of justice. 56 57 58 14 See general comment No. 35, para. 57. See footnotes 5-9 above. See general comment No. 20 (1992) on the prohibition of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, para. 3.