CAT/C/40/D/311/2007 Page 8 6.2 The State party reiterates that after his departure to Ukraine, the complainant was regularly returning in Belarus and was not persecuted there. He also presented a certificate issued by the Vitebsk police in 2001, pursuant to which he was not under search warrant in Belarus. In addition, the Belarusian Embassy in Switzerland had issued him a new passport. 6.3 The State party notes that all persons implicated in asylum proceedings in Switzerland are bound by professional secret, what ensure an effective protection of the asylum seekers’ private life. At the same time, asylum seekers have the responsibility to present all elements that would ground their demand. The State party accepts that the sense of decency might have prevented the complainant from exposing the assault at the beginning of the asylum procedure. According to it this does not explain, however, why he never mentioned to the Swiss asylum authorities that he was detained in Belarus, in 1999 - 2000, even when he was asked specific questions in this respect. 7.1 The complainant presented additional comments on 16 November 2007. He first notes that the State party’s additional observations repeat in fact the State party’s initial observations (July 2007). 7.2 He admits that under Belarusian law the grant of a request to renounce from Belarusian nationality requires the existence of another nationality or guarantees that such nationality would be granted. According to him however, this requirement does not apply in his case, as under international human rights law he has the right to individually determine his personal life. 7.3 According to the complainant, although that the State party seems to admit that he was ill-treated and humiliated in Belarus, at the same time it refuses to believe the fact that he was detained there, in spite of the copies of two official documents that confirm this. He adds that he had sent a request to the Medical service of the detention centre in question, as he was treated there in early January 2000. On 4 December 2007, he submitted a copy of the attestation issued by a detention centre No 2 of Vitebsk, dated 4 December 2007, according to which the detention centre informs the complainant that it cannot provide him with any medical record, as detainees’ medical records are destroyed after 5 years. The complainant further reiterates his allegations about the poor conditions of detention in the investigation centre and affirms that this description should be considered as sufficient demonstration that he was really detained. 7.4 The complainant insists that he did not address the issue of the assault with the asylum authorities not only because he was ashamed, but also because he was afraid that this would become known by other asylum seekers and they would neglect, humiliate would subject him to mockeries. 7.5 As to the State party’s remark that during his initial interview he omitted to mention that he was detained in Belarus, he explains that he had explained that he was arrested for short periods and was brought to the police. He explains that he had considered that his detention in Belarus for 80 days constituted a short period, and he was in custody (in an investigation detention centre), but not in prison.