revealed to him. The lawyer had gone to Debre Berhan and found no AAPO offices there. He therefore concluded that no AAPO meeting had taken place on 27 January 1995 and that it could not be verified whether the applicant had been arrested. The lawyer also found that even when the AAPO was operating in Debre Berhan the chairman and vice-chairman were not the people indicated by the author in his application. 2.7 On 21 December 1997 the author filed a request for the reconsideration of the case in which he commented on the verification report and the Ministry's interpretation of it. He alleged that his arrest and detention had been conducted in an irregular manner, therefore he could not be expected to produce documentary evidence concerning them. He added that he had never referred to an AAPO office in Debre Berhan, but to the fact that he himself had had links with the office in Addis Ababa. The names of other AAPO members referred to in the verification report had been wrongly spelled and in any case were so common that other elements of identification should have been used. Their positions in AAPO had been misunderstood. He noted that the head of AAPO, Askat Weldeyes, was imprisoned for his underground activities. He further stated that the Norwegian authorities had shown no interest in seeing his scars and that, under article 17 of the Administration Act, it was their responsibility to seek medical advice. 2.8 The author provided the Ministry of Justice with a copy of a medical report of 4 February 1998 by an expert on torture victims. The report referred to the methods of torture described by the author, who claimed that every day for about two weeks he had been beaten with sticks, especially on the knees, head and soles of the feet, and needles were inserted in his feet while he was lying on his back with his hands tied. The report listed a number of physical and psychological problems that could be linked to such treatment, such as pain in the right knee and left foot, walking difficulties, headaches, pains when urinating, depression and sleep disorders. The doctor concluded that the author had been subjected to torture and referred him to a rheumatologist and the psycho-social team for further examination. 2.9 The Psycho-Social Team for Refugees in Northern Norway issued a report on 20 April 1998 indicating that based upon the interviews conducted it was clear that the author had been subjected to torture and had been traumatized by his experiences in prison. He showed all the signs of post-traumatic stress disorder and needed lengthy psychotherapeutic treatment. The report was sent to the Ministry of Justice on 21 April 1998. 2.10 On 10 September 1998 the Ministry rejected the request to reconsider the case. The Ministry refused to accept that the author's current health problems were the result of his experiences in Ethiopia. Since his allegations concerning his political activities were not credible, his injuries could not be the result of such activities. On 14 September 1998 the author's counsel sent a fax to the Ministry requesting that the decision to expel the author be postponed on the basis of article 42 of the Administration Act, according to which if a complainant intends to go to court or has taken his case to court, the Administration can defer execution of a decision until a final judgement is made. On 16 September 1998 the Ministry responded that the execution of the decision of 6 November 1997 would not be deferred in view of the fact that no new facts had been presented. 2.11 The author argues that the Norwegian authorities repeatedly failed to investigate his torture allegations, despite the obligation under article 17 of the Administrative Act to examine all aspects of the case. Such failure is also contrary to articles 15 to 17 of the Aliens Act. He notes that the Ministry rejected the request to reconsider the case without referring to the medical reports and avoiding all comments thereon. 2.12 The author further claims that his story is consistent and disagrees with most of the arguments presented by the Ministry in rejecting his application. For example, in its decision of 10 September 1998 the Ministry stated that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had access to most regular places of detention 180