CAT/C/71/D/885/2018
of the complainant’s rights under the Convention in that country, he would be deprived of
the legal option of recourse to the Committee for protection of any kind.11
7.4
The Committee recalls its general comment No. 4, according to which the risk of
torture must be assessed on grounds that go beyond mere theory or suspicion. Although the
risk does not have to be shown to be “highly probable”, the burden of proof generally falls
on the complainant, who must present an arguable case establishing that he or she is at
“personal, ... foreseeable and real” risk.12 The Committee further recalls that, in accordance
with its general comment No. 4, it gives considerable weight to findings of fact made by
organs of the State party concerned, while, at the same time, it is not bound by such findings
and instead has the power, under article 22 (4) of the Convention, to make a free assessment
of the information available to it, taking into account all the circumstances relevant to each
case.13
7.5
In the present case, the Committee notes the complainant’s claim that he fears for his
life if he returns to the Islamic Republic of Iran, because he has engaged in an intimate
relationship with the daughter of a mullah with links to the Iranian secret services, despite
the mullah’s refusal to consent to his daughter’s marriage to the complainant. In order to
establish the credibility of his motives for fleeing, the complainant relies on a judgment of
Marvdasht Revolutionary Court dated 5 October 2016. The Committee notes that the Swiss
authorities have duly examined the form and substance of the judgment allegedly issued by
the Iranian authorities and, despite the complainant’s explanations, have expressed doubts
not only as to whether the document supports the complainant’s claims, but also as to whether
it is authentic. In particular, the Committee notes that the parties agree that the judgment
makes no mention of any prosecution or conviction for engaging in an intimate relationship
outside marriage and that it does not set out any legal position or contain any direct
instructions. Furthermore, the Committee notes that the complainant has not contested the
State party’s claims that the judgment is a decision to execute an earlier judgment, rather than
being an independent judgment in and of itself, and that, in any event, he has not
demonstrated that it is a partial decision on the question of guilt on the basis of which he
would risk a prison sentence.
7.6
The Committee also notes the fact that, according to the State party, the complainant
does not claim to have been subjected to torture by the Iranian authorities in the past or to
have engaged in political activities in the Islamic Republic of Iran or Switzerland.
7.7
The Committee is aware that numerous aspects of the human rights situation in the
Islamic Republic of Iran remain problematic. Nevertheless, it recalls that the occurrence of
human rights violations in the complainant’s country of origin is not, of itself, sufficient for
it to conclude that a complainant would face a personal risk of being tortured. The Committee
also notes that the complainant had ample opportunity to provide the State Secretariat for
Migration and the Federal Administrative Court with supporting evidence and more
information about his claims. However, on the basis of the evidence provided, it has not been
possible to confirm the complainant’s account or to determine the existence of a personal,
foreseeable, real and present risk of being subjected to torture in the event of his return to his
country of origin.
7.8
On the basis of the information before it, the Committee concludes that the
complainant has not proved that his alleged relationship outside marriage attracted the
interest of the authorities of his country of origin and concludes that the information provided
does not demonstrate that he would personally be at risk of torture or inhuman or degrading
treatment in the event of his return to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
8.
In the light of the foregoing, the Committee considers that the information submitted
by the complainant is insufficient to substantiate his claim that he would face a personal,
foreseeable and real risk of torture if he were returned to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
11
12
13
8
Tahmuresi v. Switzerland (CAT/C/53/D/489/2012), para. 7.7.
See, inter alia, M.A.R. v. Netherlands (CAT/C/31/D/203/2002), para. 7.3; and Dadar v. Canada
(CAT/C/35/D/258/2004), para. 8.4.
Committee against Torture, general comment No. 4, paras. 11, 39 and 50.
GE.21-12735