CCPR/C/122/D/2595/2015 Board, he stated that he had received documents when boarding the plane on his departure from Italy. Finally, the State party argues that the author has made inconsistent statements on the financing of his departure from Egypt in 2013. It notes that, at the interview on 5 May 2014, the author stated that he had handed over some land to his friend to finance the travel. The author’s friend had paid an agent $7,000 to take the author to Italy and had given the author an additional $2,000. However, at the hearing before the Refugee Appeals Board, the author stated that his friend had contacted a human trafficker, whom he had paid $7,000 to help the author, while the trafficker had given the author $2,000 for his journey. 4.5 The State party further argues that on several points, the author’s statements are inconsistent with the background information available on the situation in Egypt. In that regard, the author has stated that he was first called up for military service at the age of about 20. However, according to the memorandum prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a report published by the Australian Refugee Review Tribunal, men must clarify their military service status upon turning 18. 4 Furthermore, it appears from another report by the Refugee Review Tribunal that Egyptian men have to perform military service upon reaching 18 years of age, and that military service can only be postponed if certain conditions are met.5 The State party further notes that the author stated that he was issued with a passport around 2008 or 2009 without the knowledge of the military authorities, and that he also stated that he was not exempted from military service, even though his brother had been killed while performing his military service. The State party argues that this is inconsistent with available background information. It refers to the memorandum of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to which no Egyptian male over the age of 18 can be issued with a passport or leave the country without a certificate from the military allowing him to leave the country while drafted, or granting him an exemption. According to the memorandum, exemption from military service is granted for “the eldest eligible (for service) son or brother of an officer or conscript or volunteer who died or was severely injured during service in a manner that prevents them (the injured) indefinitely from providing an income”. The State party argues that the author is therefore not under an obligation to perform military service in Egypt, as his brother died while performing military service.6 It argues that this explains why it would have been possible for the author to have been issued with a passport by the Egyptian authorities. 4.6 The State party notes that the author has also stated that representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood attempted to recruit him and showed him their arsenal. It argues that this is inconsistent with the background information available. According to a report published by the Washington Institute, 7 the recruitment procedure of the Brotherhood is very selective and careful, and local members scout for recruits at Egyptian universities. Initially, members of the Muslim Brotherhood do not identify themselves as such, but try to build relationships with their targets in order to establish whether the target in question is inclined towards their ideology. The State party further argues that, regardless of the recruitment tactics of the organization, the author’s statement appears fabricated, as it is unlikely that the Muslim Brotherhood would have shown their arsenal to the author, who was a stranger to them. Finally, the State party notes that the author appears to have a low profile, has not been politically active, does not appear to be a religious person and would therefore not be suspected by the Egyptian authorities of being a member or sympathizer of the Muslim Brotherhood. 4 5 6 7 See Australia, Refugee Review Tribunal, Country Advice: Egypt, 12 March 2010, available at www.refworld.org/pdfid/4f42239c2.pdf. Reference is made in the advice to Human Rights Watch, Prohibited Identities: State Interference with Religious Freedom (November 2007), p. 44, in which it is noted that when male students reach the age of 18, the law requires them to either perform their mandatory military service for one to three years or obtain a “red card”, which defers their military service until they finish their university education. See Australia, Refugee Review Tribunal, RRT Research Response, 18 June 2009, available at www.refworld.org/pdfid/4b6fe1cf5.pdf. The author is the eldest son in the family. Eric Trager, “The unbreakable Muslim Brotherhood: grim prospects for a liberal Egypt” (Washington Institute, October 2011). 5