CAT/C/37/D/259/2004 page 5 3.2 Given the two criminal proceedings initiated against him, he fears that he would be arrested as soon as he set foot in Bangladesh and would be subjected to torture, especially since he has already been tortured while he was being held in prison in Dhaka. He states that the Swiss authorities have not called his political activities into question and adds that JP members are still being persecuted, despite the fact that their party is a member of the coalition Government. 3.3 Lastly, the complainant maintains that in Bangladesh torture is still commonly used by the police. Furthermore, many people allegedly die in prison as a result of torture and the Bangladesh authorities undertake no investigation and no action to remedy this problem. Nor is any action taken to prevent torture. In addition, there is the problem of the lack of independence of the courts, in particular the lower courts. State party’s observations on admissibility and the merits 4.1 By a note verbale of 15 February 2005, the State party declared that it would not contest admissibility. An extension for the submission of its observations was granted and on 5 July 2005 it submitted observations on the merits. 4.2 The State party examined the validity of the CRA’s decision in the light of article 3 of the Convention, the Committee’s jurisprudence and its general comments. It notes that the complainant confines himself to bringing to the Committee’s attention the grounds invoked before the Swiss authorities and provides no new element tending to call into question the CRA’s decision of 4 August 2004. It also emphasizes that the complainant does not explain to the Committee the inconsistencies and contradictions contained in his allegations and noted by the Swiss authorities, but on the contrary confirms them. 4.3 The State party recalls the Committee’s jurisprudence whereby the existence of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights does not constitute sufficient reason for concluding that a particular individual is likely to be subjected to torture on return to his or her country, and that additional grounds must therefore exist before the likelihood of torture can be deemed to be, for the purposes of article 3, paragraph 1, “foreseeable, real and personal”.1 The State party points out that the complainant makes a vague reference to “the various annual reports of different human rights organizations” to illustrate the human rights situation in Bangladesh, and in particular the frequent and unpunished use of torture by the security forces. The State party recalls that, when considering a number of communications from complainants invoking the risk of being tortured in the event of return to Bangladesh, the Committee has taken note of the overall human rights situation in Bangladesh, and in particular the repeated cases of police violence against prisoners and political opponents, and also the existence of acts of torture attributed to the police and violent clashes between political opponents.2 The State party notes that, in order to assess the personal risk of being tortured in the event of return, notably of complainants opposed to the AL, the Committee has, inter alia, deemed as pertinent the change of government after the 2001 election, the fact that the AL is currently in the opposition, the fact that there is no longer a great risk that someone may be harassed by the authorities at the instigation of members of this party and the fact that members of one of the coalition parties in power have nothing to fear from the political groups making up the coalition.3