CAT/C/51/D/426/2010
regime. The State party considers that the complainant does not present such a profile; the
photographs and documents she produced do not establish a risk of persecution should she
return to Ethiopia.
Complainant’s comments on the State party’s submission
5.1
By letter dated 7 February 2011, the complainant submitted her comments on the
observations of the State party. As a preliminary matter, she emphasizes that the Federal
Office for Migration did not technically “reject” her first asylum claim, because it did not
consider the merits of the case.
5.2
The complainant reiterates that she was harassed in Ethiopia and states that she has
been consistent in her allegations on this issue. She submits that she never claimed to have
been politically active in Ethiopia, but maintains that she was targeted due to her father’s
political activities. The complainant argues that her father’s activism is corroborated by
Mr. Shiferaw’s statement, and that her allegation that the Government of Ethiopia closely
monitors and pursues opponents living abroad is substantiated by a recent report on
Djibouti published by the Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa.8 The complainant
states that the Government’s crackdown on Oromo opposition is targeting more than just
the party elite,9 and the complainant is “one of the leading figures of the [OLF] movement
in Switzerland”. According to the complainant, a simple consultation of well-known
dissident websites, such as the Oromia Times, would reveal the complainant’s activism to
the Ethiopian authorities. The complainant therefore claims to face a “real, imminent, and
personal risk of being subjected to treatment contrary to the Convention” if returned to
Ethiopia.
5.3
The complainant provides a first-person statement of her OLF activities in
Switzerland. She asserts that the OLF is a political organization whose objective is to
struggle for self-determination of the Oromo people after a century of repression by
Ethiopian rulers. The complainant states that between 2008 and 2009, her role in the OLF
consisted of: participating in monthly contribution and fundraising activities; participating
in monthly meetings; promoting Oromo cultural activities, displaying Oromo identity and
celebrating Oromo national festivals; actively participating in the commemoration of
Oromo Martyrs’ Day; and preparing Oromo national food for fundraising purposes.
In 2010, she was elected as an executive committee member of OLF Switzerland, and in
this role she engages in: organizing the Oromo diaspora “according to gender, age, and
profession to enhance their participation for the struggle of Oromo politics”; teaching the
Oromo language; inculcating OLF ideological hegemony among Oromos in Switzerland;
informing the Oromo diaspora about the false propaganda of the Government of Ethiopia;
and writing the monthly reports of the organization.
Complainant’s additional submission
6.1
On 19 September 2013, the complainant made a further submission which included
a medical report, a medical certificate, a letter from the Oromo Community Switzerland
(OCS), and the complainant’s OCS membership card. The card, issued on 1 August 2012,
8
9
6
The complainant provides a copy of the report dated 12 January 2011. It describes the disappearance
of nine Ethiopian Oromo refugees after their arrest in Djibouti by members of the Djibouti forces who
were allegedly supported by Ethiopian security agents.
The complainant cites Country of Origin Research and Information (CORI), “CORI country report:
Ethiopia” (January 2010), p. 31.