CAT/C/50/D/430/2010
extradition. The fact that Onsi Abichou was not tortured upon arriving in Tunisia — no
doubt due in large part to the attention focused on his case, especially by the media —
cannot retrospectively justify the actions of the State party. For these reasons, the
complainant invites the Committee to find that the State party acted in violation of article 3
of the Convention and of the interim measures requested by the Committee.
Issues and proceedings before the Committee
Failure to comply with the Committee’s request for interim measures pursuant to rule 114
of its rules of procedure
9.1
The Committee regrets that its request for interim measures was not respected. It
recognizes the State party’s efforts to transmit the Committee’s request for interim
measures as expeditiously as possible, given the circumstances, and concludes that, in the
present instance, the State party cannot be said to have failed to meet its obligations under
article 22 of the Convention.
Consideration of admissibility
10.1 Before considering any claim contained in a communication, the Committee against
Torture must decide whether or not it is admissible under article 22 of the Convention. In
this regard, the Committee notes that Onsi Abichou submitted an application (registered
under No. 33841/10) to the European Court of Human Rights and that this application
related to the same matter as the one before the Committee. Nevertheless, the Committee
notes that the application was withdrawn and struck off the Court’s list of cases on 7 April
2011 before having been considered on the merits by that instance. Consequently, the
Committee considers that the provisions of article 22, paragraph 5 (a), of the Convention do
not preclude its consideration of the complaint.26
10.2 In the absence of any further obstacle to the admissibility of the communication, the
Committee proceeds with the consideration of the merits under article 3 of the Convention.
Consideration of the merits
11.1 The Committee has considered the communication in the light of all the information
made available to it by the parties, in accordance with article 22, paragraph 4, of the
Convention.
11.2 The Committee must determine whether, by extraditing the alleged victim to
Tunisia, the State party failed to fulfil its obligation under article 3, paragraph 1, of the
Convention to refrain from expelling or returning a person to another State where there are
substantial grounds for believing that he or she would be in danger of being subjected to
torture. The Committee stresses that it must take a decision on this question in the light of
the information which the authorities of the State party had or should have had in their
possession at the time of the extradition. Subsequent events are useful only in assessing
what information the State party actually had or should have had at the time of
extradition.27
11.3 The Committee recalls that the aim of such a determination is to establish whether
the person in question was personally at a foreseeable and real risk of being subjected to
26
27
14
See communication No. 215/2002, M.J.A.G.V. v. Sweden, decision adopted on 11 November 2003,
para. 6.1.
See communication No. 428/2010, Kalinichenko v. Morocco, para. 15.2 and communication No.
233/2003, Agiza v. Sweden, decision adopted on 20 May 2005, para. 15.2.
GE.13-45615