CAT/C/37/D/277/2005
Page 10
his or her return to that country; additional grounds must exist to show that the individual
concerned would be personally at risk. Similarly, the absence of a consistent pattern of gross
violations of human rights does not mean that a person cannot be considered to be in danger
of being subjected to torture in his or her specific circumstances.
8.3 The Committee recalls its General Comment No.1 on article 3, which states that the
Committee is obliged to assess whether there are substantial grounds for believing that the
complainant would be in danger of being subjected to torture were he/she to be expelled,
returned or extradited, the risk of torture must be assessed on grounds that go beyond mere
theory or suspicion. The risk does not have to meet the test of being highly probable, but it
must be personal and present.
8.4 In assessing the risk of torture in the present case, the Committee has noted the
complainant's contention that there is a foreseeable risk that he would be tortured if returned
to Iran, on the basis of his alleged previous incarceration and torture and the fact that by
participating in a demonstration against the government he did not comply with the condition
for his release. The Committee notes the complainant’s allegation that the asylum procedure
in Sweden was defective, among others things, as his requests for oral proceedings before the
Aliens Appeals Board were rejected even though the law specifies that the Appeals Board
should grant such proceedings if this can be presumed to benefit the investigation. The
Committee also notes that the complainant has provided medical certificates that support his
contention that he was tortured and that the domestic instances did not question that the
complainant had been detained, physically abused and tortured, though the State party notes
that it is not in a position to either confirm or deny this allegation.
8.5 However, the Committee also notes that while it is probable that the author was
subjected to torture, the question is whether he currently runs a risk of torture if returned to
Iran. It considers that, even if it were assumed that the complainant was detained and tortured
in Iran in the past, it does not automatically follow that, six years after the alleged events
occurred, he would still be at risk of being subjected to torture if returned to Iran in the near
future1.
8.6 The Committee notes that the State party has provided extensive reasons, based on
expert evidence obtained by its Embassy in Tehran, why it questions the authenticity of the
documents presented by the complainant to attest his detention in Iran. It also notes that the
complainant’s arguments, and the evidence to support them, have been presented to the State
party’s asylum determination bodies. It recalls its jurisprudence to the effect that it is for the
complainant to collect and present evidence in support of his or her account of events2, and
reiterates that it is not an appellate, quasi-judicial or administrative body. In the present case,
the Committee concludes that the State party’s review of the complainant’s case was not
deficient in this respect.
1
See S.S.S. v Canada, Communication N° 245/2004, Views of 16 November 2005, 8.4; Haad
v Sitzerland, Communication N° 126/1999, Views of 10 May 2000, para. 8.6.
2
See Mehdi Zare v Sweden, Communication N°256/2004, Views of 17 May 2006, para. 9.5;
M.A.K.v Germany, Communication N° 214/2002, Views of 14 May 2004, para. 13.5; S.L. v.
Sweden, Communication No. 150/1999, Views of 11 May 2001, para.6.4.