- 126 3.3 The petitioner claims further that upon his return he would be arrested and tortured in connection with the court verdict of 1996. It is submitted that the judgement is consistent with counsel’s knowledge of penalties for desertion in connection with perceived affiliation with the Islamists. 3.4 The petitioner claims that, upon his return, he will be interviewed at the airport about his time spent outside Algeria and his activities. He may be questioned on whether he applied for refugee status outside Algeria. The petitioner quotes a British newspaper report of June 1997 on the death of a refused asylum-seeker deported to Algeria. 3.5 The petitioner claims that Algeria is committing gross violations of human rights, which take place not only with total immunity, but are also sanctioned at the highest level. Recalling events that have occurred in Algeria since 1992, he further claims that there is a customary disregard by Algeria of its obligations under international human rights treaties. 3.6 The petitioner claims that all available domestic remedies have been exhausted. Notwithstanding the outstanding response from the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and pursuant to the Migration Act, the alleged victim could be deported from Australia as soon as reasonably practical. State party’s observations on admissibility and merits 4.1 In its reply of 14 November 2000, the State party submits that the application is inadmissible, because it lacks the minimum substantiation as required by article 22 of the Convention. 4.2 Should the Committee find that the application is admissible, the State party submits that it lacks merit, as grounds for believing that the alleged victim would be subject to torture upon his return to Algeria are neither substantial, personal nor present. 4.3 While the State party acknowledges the seriousness of the human rights situation in Algeria, it submits that recent reports indicate that the situation has improved. The State party refers to the adoption of the Civil Harmony Law in 1999 and the agreement of the Algerian Ministry of the Interior to investigate cases of disappearances. The State party submits that Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the United States Department of State reported ad idem that the number of disappearances, arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings carried out by agents of Algeria declined in 1999. The State party notes that Algeria acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture, with the declaration under articles 21 and 22, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. 4.4 The State party submits that there is no substantial reason for believing that the petitioner will be subjected to torture upon his return to Algeria resulting from his claimed involvement with the FIS. The State party requests the Committee to accord appropriate weight to the findings of the RRT in this regard, since the petitioner did not provide new information in respect to this claim. The State party recalls the findings of the RRT that the petitioner has never been a member of the FIS and had no interest or involvement in its political activities and that the Algerian police had no interest in him whatsoever. The RRT argued that the petitioner’s