Convention.e Notes Annex VII Decisions of the Committee against Tortureunder article 22 of the Convention A. Decisions on merits Communication No. 135/1999 Submitted by:S.G. (represented by counsel, Ms. Mariette Timmer) Alleged victim: Complainant State party: Netherlands Date of complaint: 19 July 1999 The Committee against Torture, established under article 17 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Meeting on 12 May 2004, Having concluded its consideration of complaint No. 135/1999, submitted to the Committee against Torture by S.G. under article 22 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Having taken into account all information made available to it by the complainant, his counsel and the State party, Adopts the following decision under article 22, paragraph 7, of the Convention. 1.1The complainant is S.G., a Turkish national born in 1965, currently residing in the Netherlands and awaiting deportation to Turkey. He claims that his forcible return to Turkey would constitute a violation by the Netherlands of article 3 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. He is represented by counsel. 1.2On 18 August 1999 the Committee transmitted the complaint to the State party; pursuant to rule 108, paragraph 9, of the Committee’s rules of procedure, the State party was requested not to expel the complainant to Turkey, pending consideration of his case by the Committee. By note dated 13 October 1999, the State party acceded to this request. Facts as submitted by the complainant 2.1 The complainant is a Turkish national of Kurdish ethnic origin from the city of Batman in eastern Turkey. In 1993 he became a supporter of the National Liberation Front of Kurdistan (ERNK), the political wing of the PKK. In 1994 the complainant became a member of the People’s Democratic Party (HADEP). He participated in meetings, and collected money and food for Kurds who were forceda to leave their villages and relocate to Batman. 2.2 On 19 March 1995, the complainant was arrested with seven others, for reasons unspecified, and detained for 15 days. During this time he claims to have been subjected to torture on several occasions, which left scars on his back and left leg.b 2.3 On 10 May 1997, the complainant was arrested by four policemen whilst on his way to a meeting of the Turkish Human Rights Association (IHD). He was blindfolded and taken to a field, where the policemen threatened to kill him if he did not become a police informer and provided them with names of PKK, ERNK and HADEP sympathizers. The complainant was frightened and agreed to cooperate, upon which he was released. He then went into hiding, and fled to Istanbul on 14 May 1997. From there, he left Turkey for the Netherlands on 29 May 1997, with a false passport. 2.4 After arriving in the Netherlands, the complainant learned from his father that the authorities had been looking for him, that the family house was under police observation, and that his father had been questioned by the police about his son’s whereabouts on several occasions.c He also learned that the police had asked his father in writing for information about his son’s whereabouts. 2.5On 29 May 1997, the complainant applied for asylum in the Netherlands. This was rejected by the Secretary of the Ministry of Justice on 13 August 1997. On 25 August 1997, the complainant requested the Secretary of Justice to review his decision, but this was declined on 29 September 1997. An appeal against the refusal of the Secretary to grant asylum was dismissed by the District Court of The Hague on 23 July 1998. Thereafter, the complainant left the Netherlands for Denmark,d and applied for asylum in that country.e 2.6 The complainant left Denmark on 14 February 1999 and returned to the Netherlands on 15 February 1999. Shortly afterwards,f he participated in a demonstration against the role of the Greek Government in the arrest of Abdullah Ocalan, resulting in the occupation of the Greek ambassador’s residence in The Hague by approximately 200 Kurds, including the complainant. The occupation received considerable international attention. The Turkish media described the occupation as a “PKK activity”, and labelled the participants as “terrorists”. After the occupation ended, the complainant was arrested in connection with his involvement in the occupation, and on 20 February 1999, he was placed in alien detention, and subsequently prosecuted.g