- 120 4.3
Concerning the assessment of whether there are substantial grounds for believing that the
complainant will be in danger of being subjected to torture if returned to Georgia, the State party
refers to the Refugee Board’s decisions in their entirety. The State party emphasizes that
according to background information available, only high-ranking or high-profile members of
the Zwiadists are being persecuted and the complainant did not belong to this group. With
reference to the Committee’s jurisprudence in I.O.A. v. Swedena and N.P. v. Australiab, the State
party argues that it is important whether information about the recipient country supports the
complainant’s allegations that she risks being subjected to torture. Furthermore, the State party
refers to X. v. Switzerlandc where the Committee emphasized that the applicant “does not belong
to a political, professional or social group targeted by the authorities for repression and torture”.
4.4
The State party reiterates that the Refugee Board did not accept the complainant’s story
that she had been liberated from detention through an armed attack, mainly because there were
no references to such an action in their background material. Although the complainant claimed
that her father had taken part in the attack, he did not mention the attack in his application for
asylum. In this context, the State party refers to the Committee decision in H.D. v. Switzerlandd
where the Committee takes into account whether the complainant’s presentation of the facts are
considered well attested and credible.
4.5
Moreover, the Refugee Board found that even if the detention had taken place, they did
not consider that the complainant risked persecution and torture if returned to Georgia.
According to the State party, this assessment corresponds with the Committee’s jurisprudence in
A.L.N. v. Switzerland and X, Y and Z. v. Sweden.e
4.6
The State party emphasizes that there is no objective evidence to support the
complainant’s claim that she has been subjected to torture,f nor has it been established that she is
wanted by the Georgian authorities.g The State party emphasizes that after her liberation, the
complainant moved to the Gegetjkori region and resumed her political activities, but that she has
not alleged any problems with the authorities while she resided thereh and that the events that
motivated her departure date relatively far back in time.i
4.7
The Refugee Board did not attach importance to the declaration of the complainant’s
neighbours, that the authorities had persecuted her family by visiting and threatening them, as
this allegation was submitted at a later stage in the asylum proceedings and had not been
mentioned in her previous statements. The State party refers to the Committee’s practice that if a
complainant changes his or her account during the processing of the asylum application, it is
important that a logical explanation be given for doing so.j
4.8
The State party also considers it to be consistent with the Committee’s jurisprudence that
due weight be given to the fact that the Convention against Torture entered into force for
Georgia on 25 November 1994.k
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