2.1Counsel submits that, after the Iranian revolution in 1979, the complainant became associated with a political party, the Fedayeen Khalg-Iran. He became active in the organization whilst in secondary school. In January 1983 he was arrested on suspicion of distributing illegal pamphlets and causing disorder, and was detained for 25 days. During this time, he alleges that he was severely beaten. Upon release he was removed from his school. 2.2The complainant continued his political activities. These consisted of handing out illegal pamphlets and attending illegal gatherings. He was arrested again in July 1983, and brought before a Revolutionary Court, which sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment. During his first two weeks in prison he was interrogated, tortured and maltreated. He was twice taken out for a mock execution, for which he was blindfolded and put against a wall, with shots being fired. He was then kept in solitary confinement for a month and a half. At the end of his term of imprisonment, the complainant was required to sign a statement that he would not engage in political activities, on pain of death. 2.3After his release, the complainant was required to carry out his military service, during which time he claims he was discriminated against, in that he had to perform dangerous tasks at the front. After completing his military service, he took up tertiary studies at a private university, as he was not permitted to study at a regular university, and then obtained employment. In 1989 he resumed his political activities with a group of people associated with the Fedayeen-e-Khalg. The group distributed pamphlets and a political periodical, wrote slogans on walls, and collected financial aid for families of political detainees. 2.4On the evening of 30 April 1994, the group distributed pamphlets and wrote slogans in certain areas of Tehran. The following morning, the complainant noticed that some of the slogans were unfinished, and learned that two members of the group had not notified them that they had finished work. Fearing that the activities of his group had been detected, the complainant fled Tehran. He later learned that officials had searched his apartment and taken away his belongings, including illegal pamphlets and other political material. He also learned that his father had been detained and interrogated by officials, and released on condition that he keep the authorities informed about the complainant’s whereabouts. The complainant fled Iran on 21 June 1994. 2.5After arriving in the Netherlands, the complainant became involved in a number of political activities, including co-founding an organization called Nabard, an organization of Iranian refugees which comments on the human rights situation in Iran. He was involved in writing and publishing reports for this group, although his name did not appear in them. Nabard has close connections with a Fedayeen group in France, and opposition groups in Iran. In 1996, the complainant was told by his brother, who had obtained asylum in Sweden, that a letter from the complainant to his father had been intercepted by the authorities, and that his father had been detained for not apprising the authorities about receiving the letter. 2.6On 14 July 1994 the complainant applied for asylum in the Netherlands. His application was rejected by the State Secretary of the Department of Justice on 30 August 1994. An internal review of this decision, requested by the complainant, confirmed the original decision, and a subsequent appeal to the District Court in The Hague was dismissed on 11 February 1997. The Court found that the complainant had had no problems with the Iranian authorities between 1985 and 1994, and that there was no objective evidence regarding the supposed arrest of his fellow group members in May 1994. 2.7On 16 June 1997 the complainant filed a second application for refugee status, this time accompanied by a letter from counsel and Iranian documents said to have been issued by the Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in May 1994, namely a writ of summons, and a copy of a document allegedly showing that the author’s residence had been placed under seal. This application was also rejected, as the Dutch authorities did not consider the Iranian documents to be authentic. An internal review confirmed the original decision, and an appeal to the District Court in The Hague was dismissed on 23 February 2001. The Court found that the first asylum application had been dealt with comprehensively, and agreed that the Iranian documents were not authentic, which cast doubt on the complainant’s story. It also found that there was no link between the complainant’s political activities in Iran and those subsequently carried out in the Netherlands. 2.8On 18 February 2002, the Aliens Police advised the complainant that he was required to leave the Netherlands. The complaint 3.1The complainant claims that he fears being subjected to torture if he is returned to Iran by the Dutch authorities, and that his return to Iran would constitute a violation of article 3 of the Convention. He states that he has previously been subjected to torture whilst in custody because of his political activities in Iran, and that, given his subsequent political activities both in Iran and in the Netherlands, he is in danger of being subjected to torture again if returned to Iran. In this regard he also refers to the general human rights situation in Iran, particularly reports of torture. 3.2The complainant argues the Dutch authorities were wrong to conclude that he had no difficulties with the Iranian authorities between 1985 and 1994, and that there was no link between his political activities in Iran and those in the Netherlands. He claims that his first asylum application was not properly dealt with by the Dutch authorities. The State party’s observations on admissibility and merits 4.1By note dated 6 May 2002, the State party informed the Committee that it does not object to the admissibility of the complaint; its observations on the merits of the complaint were transmitted by note of 23 September 2002. 4.2The State party contends that the complainant’s return would not violate its obligations under article 3 of the Convention. It provides a detailed description of the legal processes by which an application for refugee status in the Netherlands may be made, and how administrative and judicial appeals may be prosecuted. The relevant legislative framework for the admission and expulsion of aliens is set out in the Aliens Act of 1965, as well as related enactments and regulations. Asylum-seekers are interviewed twice by the authorities, and on the second occasion the focus is on the person’s reasons for leaving their country of origin. Legal counsel may be