CAT/C/31/D/199/2002 Page 4 2.5 On 18 December 2001, the Government rejected the asylum applications of Mr. A and the complainant. The reasons for these decisions are omitted from the text of this decision at the State party’s request and with the agreement of the Committee. Accordingly, it was ordered that Mr. A be deported immediately and the complainant as soon as possible. On 18 December 2001, Mr A. was deported, while the complainant evaded police custody; her whereabouts remain unknown. The complaint 3.1 The complainant submits that her case is intimately bound up with that of her husband Mr A., who denies any terrorist links. She alleges she would be of great interest to the Egyptian authorities, as she would be expected to possess valuable information about her husband and his activities. There is thus a clear risk of detention and that Egyptian authorities would try and obtain information from her through physical violence and torture. 3.2 The complainant criticises the lack of information as to the content and sources of the Special Branch’s information on Mr. A, observing that in any event the desire of the Egyptian authorities to have him in custody on account of his previous conviction was clear. The complainant questions the value of the security guarantee provided by the Egyptian authorities. Neither its contents nor its author are known to her. In any event, the Egyptian authorities are more likely to pursue their own objectives than respect assurances provided to foreign States. In a subsequent submission, the complainant refers to a statement (urgent action) of 10 January 2002 by Amnesty International considering the complainant to be at risk of torture in the event of a return to Egypt due to her family links. In addition, Amnesty International considered the security guarantee insufficient, as Mr A.’s whereabouts since his arrival in Egypt on 18 December 2002 were unknown and had not been advised to family, counsel or any other. 3.3 The complainant argues that, in contrast to the Convention on the Status of Refugees, the Convention against Torture does not contain any exclusion clause on security grounds and thus its protection is absolute. In addition, the expulsion decision cannot be appealed, while a new application requires new circumstances to be presented, of which there are none. 3.4 Generally, the complainant refers to a report in 2000 of the United States’ State Department that respect for fundamental human rights in Egypt is poor. She contends that security forces mistreat and torture persons suspected of terrorist connections, and conduct mass arrests of such persons. A 1997 report of Amnesty International suggests a number of women have been subjected to human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, on account of family links. The State party’s submissions on the admissibilty and merits of the complaint 4.1 By submission of 8 March 2002, the State party contests both the admissibility and the merits of the complaint. It regards the claim of substantial grounds to fear torture in the event of a return to Egypt to lack, in light of the security guarantees provided and the