CAT/C/35/D/238/2003
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the same grounds. On 5 January 1998, a request for reconsideration was made which
again was rejected by from the Ministry of Justice on 25 August 1998.
2.8
According to the complainant, his right to free legal assistance had been
exhausted and the Rådgivningsgruppa (Advisory Group) agreed to take his case on a
voluntary basis. On 1 and 9 September 1998, the Advisory Group made additional
requests for reconsideration and deferred execution of the expulsion decision, which
were rejected on 16 September 1999. The complainant has submitted to the
Committee, in this regard, copies of 16 pieces of correspondence between the
Advisory Group and the Ministry of Justice, including a medical certificate from a
psychiatric nurse indicating that the complainant suffers from post-traumatic stress
syndrome. The date of expulsion was finally set for 21 January 1999.
2.9
For the complainant, all the inconsistencies in his story can be explained by
the fact that during the initial interrogation he agreed to be questioned in English, not
having been informed that he could have an Amharic interpreter present. Since the
difference in years between the Ethiopian and Norwegian calendar is approximately
eight years, when he tried to calculate the time in Norwegian terms and translate this
into English, he became confused. The communication was further complicated by
the fact that in Ethiopia the day starts at the equivalent of 6 o’clock in the morning in
Norway. That meant that when the complainant said "2 o’clock", this should have
been interpreted as "8 o’clock".
2.10 During the interrogation, the complainant referred to the Southern Ethiopian
People’s Democratic Coalition (SEPDC) as the "Southern People��s Political
Organization" (SPPO), which does not exist. This error was due to the fact that he
only knew the name of the organization in Amharic.
The complaint:
3.
The complainant argues that he would be in danger of being imprisoned and
tortured if he were to return to Ethiopia. He claims that, during the asylum procedure,
the immigration authorities did not seriously examine the merits of his asylum claim
and did not pay enough attention to his political activities and his history of detention.
The Committee’s decision on admissibility relating to complaint No. 127/1999
4.1
On 25 January 1999, the complainant lodged his initial complaint with the
Committee, alleging his expulsion by Norway to Ethiopia would violate article 3 of
the Convention. On 19 November 1999, in light of the submissions of the parties, the
Committee declared the complaint inadmissible for failure to exhaust domestic
remedies.1 The Committee reasoned as follows:
[7.2]
The Committee notes that the State party challenges the admissibility of the
communication on the grounds that all available and effective domestic remedies have not
been exhausted. It further notes that the legality of an administrative act may be
challenged in Norwegian courts, and asylum-seekers who find their applications for
political asylum turned down by the Directorate of Immigration and on appeal by the
Ministry of Justice have the opportunity to request judicial review before Norwegian
courts.
[7.3]
The Committee notes that according to information available to it, the
complainant has not initiated any proceedings to seek judicial review of the decision
1
Z.T. v Norway Complaint No. 127/1999, Decision adopted on 19 November 1999.