CCPR/C/125/D/2439/2014
the Iranian authorities during the time leading up to his departure from the Islamic Republic
of Iran, it also could not find as a fact that he had been prosecuted in connection with those
problems. It further observed that, at the Board hearing of 16 January 2013, the author had
produced three documents, which appeared to be two notices to appear and a judgment in
absentia sentencing him, inter alia, to eight years’ imprisonment for the sale of satellite
dishes.17 The author declared that his parents had received those documents prior to his
departure in November 2011, without his knowledge. The Board held that the most recent
production of a new judgment for the same matter, 18 which was allegedly delivered more
than one and a half years after the judgment produced in January 2013, contradicts the
author’s statement that he had already been sentenced in absentia for the relevant matter
prior to his departure. Moreover, according to the most recently produced judgment, he had
been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and a fine for that same matter, while for the
other matter – the finding of, inter alia, pornography, which he had not mentioned
previously – he had allegedly been sentenced to one year’s imprisonment, 74 lashes and a
fine. Lastly, the document indicates that the sentence was pronounced on 27 July 2013,
while the author only produced the document in connection with the submission of his
communication to the Committee almost one year later, namely, on 4 July 2014. The author
has not provided any explanation for this.
4.4
Consequently, the Board considered that the judgment transmitted together with the
request to reopen the case appeared to have been fabricated for the occasion. Background
information attests that forged documents, including judgments and other court documents,
are widespread and easy to obtain in the Islamic Republic of Iran. 19 Based on the above, the
Board found no reason to request an assessment of the authenticity of the document
produced by the author.
4.5
As to the conversion of the author, the Board pointed to discrepancies between, on
the one hand, his declarations in his communication to the Committee and in his request to
reopen proceedings and, on the other, his statements in the asylum registration report
prepared by the Danish National Police, his asylum application form, his interview with the
Danish Immigration Service and the brief submitted by his assigned counsel. These
discrepancies relate to the period of time during which he participated in church activities.
Moreover, the Danish pastor’s statement of 26 June 2014 fails to confirm the statement by
the author that he started to participate regularly in church services and lessons in
Christianity five months after his entry into Denmark, namely, a whole year earlier, and that
he had participated in Bible classes for four months prior to his baptism. 20
4.6
The Board then assessed whether, as a result of those activities, the author had been
profiled by the Iranian authorities to such an extent that he would be at risk of abuse in case
of return. It took into account the Facebook postings and the hate emails received by the
author, as well as the harassment and threats received by his family from the Iranian
authorities, who declared that the author would be killed upon his return to the Islamic
Republic of Iran. However, the author failed to render probable that he had been exposed to
the Iranian authorities and would be at a specific and individual risk of persecution for that
reason in the event of his return to his country of origin.
17
18
19
20
The judgment of 16 September 2011 and the two notices to appear dated 2 May 2011 and 26 June
2011.
The judgment of 24 July 2013.
Memorandum of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Udenrigsministeriet) concerning
forged and false documents from the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2 September 2013. According to the
State party, the memorandum mentions, inter alia, that it is easy to illegally obtain summonses and to
forge summonses by erasing information in the summons and adding new details. In principle, this
applies to all legal documents and documents issued by an authority, including court orders and
judgments and, according to the source of the report published by the Danish Immigration Service,
there is a relatively high occurrence of forged documents in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The author did not mention his interest in Christianity when interviewed by the Danish Immigration
Service. Before the Board, he explained that he did not have any particular knowledge about
Christianity at that time or documents proving his interest. He thus feared that the Danish authorities
would consider his interest a lie.
5