2.3 While he was attending university, the complainant alleges that students were compelled to join the People’s Defence Force (PDF), the army of the ruling party, the National Islamic Front (NIF). To avoid conscription the complainant became a police officer, and from 1993 to 1995, he worked at the head office of the Khartoum prison administration and sometimes at Kober prison. 2.4 In 1994, the Government sent students who were seen as troublemakers and opponents of the regime to fight in Southern Sudan. On 1 June 1996, the complainant allegedly received a summons stating that he had to report to the PDF within 72 hours as he had been chosen “to fulfil the duty of Jihad”. As he did not want to fight against his own people or to clear minefields, he decided to flee the country. He was unable to use his passport because of the summons and therefore used his older brother’s passport. After his departure the military allegedly visited his home. 2.5 On 10 December 1997, the complainant arrived in Australia without valid travel documents and was detained pending final resolution of his asylum claims. On 12 December 1997, he filed an application for a protection visa (refugee status) with the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (the DIMA). In support of his application, he submitted, inter alia, the following: a letter from the Umma Party confirming his membership; a letter from the Commander of the Popular Forces to the Manager of the Department of Prisons to release the complainant and present himself to the PDF; and a statement from a member of the Australian Sudanese community who stated that she had no doubt that the complainant was a Sudanese citizen and belonged to a family known to be strong supporters of the Ansar group, which supports the Umma Party. 2.6 On 5 January 1998, a delegate of the DIMA denied the complainant’s application for a protection visa, finding that he was not a citizen of Sudan and that his claims lacked credibility. On 5 February 1998, the complainant sought administrative review of the delegate’s decision before the Refugee Review Tribunal (the RRT). By decision of 7 July 1998, the RRT refused the complainant’s application. The complainant lodged an application for judicial review with the Federal Court of Australia. On 25 August 1998, the Court remitted the application back to the RRT for a second determination. 2.7 On 25 November 1998, the newly constituted RRT denied the complainant’s application. The matter was appealed to the Federal Court, at which the complainant was unrepresented. During the hearing, he said that the interpreter who had assisted him at the RRT hearing was inadequate and that he had been misunderstood. The hearing was adjourned so that the complainant could obtain legal representation. On 9 August 1999, the Federal Court dismissed the appeal. Several subsequent requests for ministerial intervention were denied. 2.8 The complainant outlines the recent political history of Sudan and claims that there is a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant and mass violations of human rights. He refers, inter alia, to the adoption of a country resolution in April 1997 by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, according to which human rights violations in Sudan included “extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, detentions without due process, enforced or involuntary disappearances, violations of the rights of women and children, slavery and slavery-like practices, forced displacement of persons and systematic torture, and denial of the freedoms of religion, expression, association and peaceful assembly”. 124