present during the interviews. The asylum-seeker receives a copy of a report made after the interviews, and has two days to submit corrections or additions to the report. A decision is then made by an official of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) on behalf of the State Secretary for Justice. If an application is denied, the applicant may lodge an objection. If a prima facie case of fear of persecution is demonstrated, an Advisory Committee will review the decision at first instance, and interview the applicant. A representative of UNHCR is invited to attend the interview, and to make UNHCR’s views known. A recommendation is made to the State Secretary for Justice, who decides the matter. If the objection is dismissed, an appeal can be lodged with the District Court. No further appeal is possible. 4.3The State party attests that its Ministry of Foreign Affairs periodically issues country reports on the situation in countries of origin to assist the IND in its assessment of asylum applications. From 1994 to early in 1995, based on a country report prepared in 1991 from which it appeared that the human rights situation in Iran was alarming, Iranian asylum seekers were eligible for provisional residence permits. This process then ceased, following an updated country report which indicated that the overall situation in Iran had improved. 4.4In relation to the petitioner’s personal circumstances, the State party summarizes the details provided by the complainant to the IND during the first and second interviews of each of his two applications for refugee status, and of the relevant administrative and judicial proceedings. In particular, it notes that the Iranian documents submitted by the complainant were thoroughly investigated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and not found to be authentic. 4.5The State party notes that, in relation to a complaint concerning article 3, the Committee must decide whether there are specific grounds indicating that the individual concerned would be personally at risk of torture if returned to their country.a Substantial grounds in this regard require more than a mere possibility of torture, but do not need to be such that torture is highly likely to occur.b It contends that the general human rights situation in Iran is not such that any person being returned to Iran would be in danger of torture. In relation to the complainant, it notes first that his support for the banned political organization Fedayeen is not itself sufficient reason to assume that he would be tortured upon return; thus, recent country reports record no recent cases of convictions of Fedayeen members. Secondly, following the complainant’s release from prison in 1985, he had no significant difficulties with the Iranian authorities, and apparently did not see himself as being at risk, as he remained in the country until 1994. The State party notes that, following his release from prison, the complainant served normally in the armed forces, suggesting that he was not the object of any suspicion on the part of the authorities. It states that the problems the complainant refers to following his release from prison were comparatively minor. 4.6In relation to his activities in May 1994, the State party notes that the complainant provided no concrete evidence that any of his fellow group members were arrested. Similarly, there is no objective evidence attesting to the complainant’s father being arrested the only evidence comes from family sources. 4.7The State party contends that the complainant’s political activities in the Netherlands do not place him at any personal risk of being tortured upon return to Iran, because there is neither any claim nor any evidence that the Iranian authorities are aware of his activities in the Netherlands. 4.8Finally, the State party denies that the complainant was not given sufficient opportunity to tell his story during his first asylum application. His second application simply contained a more detailed account of events, not a different account. In any event new material, such as the documents produced by the complainant, were properly investigated and considered by the authorities. In this regard, the Iranian documents were found to be inauthentic, on the basis that they did not conform to standard formatting practices for such documents in Iran. 4.9In the State party’s opinion, there is no basis for believing that the complainant runs a foreseeable, real and personal risk of being subjected to torture upon his return to Iran, and that the expulsion of the author from the Netherlands to Iran would not violate article 3 of the Convention. The complainant’s comments on the State party’s observations 5.1In his comments on the State party’s observations, dated 2 January 2003, the complainant states that neither of his applications was reviewed by the Advisory Committee referred to in the State party’s observations. To him, the tone of the Government’s 2001 country report on Iran was not similar to those of previous years, but was in fact very negative. He rejects the relevance of the State party not having any record of recent convictions of Fedayeen members, and submits that it should not be concluded from this that those involved in Fedayeen activities do not risk serious consequences. He states that the activities of the group are illegal in Iran, and are therefore difficult to detect and prosecute. 5.2The complainant reiterates that he did experience problems between 1985 and 1994, and that this constitutes evidence that the Iranian authorities continue to view him with suspicion. 5.3The complainant’s response is accompanied by a letter of support from Amnesty International. This sets out details about the Iranian penal code, the consequence of carrying out activities for banned opposition organizations, and details of the alleged deficiencies in the administration of justice in Iran. It cites examples of executions and torture of members of opposition political movements in Iran in recent years, although no recent cases of Fedayeen members being subjected to this treatment. The letter emphasizes that the complainant’s release from prison in 1985 was conditional on him not engaging in further political activity, and that he was told he would receive the death penalty if he did not comply. It further states that the Iranian documents tendered by the complainant, and which were not considered authentic by the State party, were reviewed by an expert on Iranian legal documents, who attested to their authenticity. It also contends that the complainant’s political activities in both Iran and the Netherlands have been significant, and that in the Netherlands his name has appeared in domestic media on several occasions; the complainant should not be expected to prove that his activities in the Netherlands are known to the Iranian authorities.