CAT/C/56/D/562/2013
4.4
The State party also informed the Committee that the complainant was entitled to
seek leave to apply to the Federal Court for judicial review of the pre-removal risk
assessment decision and to seek a judicial stay of removal pending the Court’s decision on
the leave application. In accordance with paragraph 72 (2) (b) of the Immigration and
Refugee Protection Act, an application for leave must be filed in the Federal Court within
15 days after the day on which the applicant is notified of the pre-removal risk assessment
decision, or otherwise becomes aware of the matter.
4.5
At the time that the State party submitted its request for suspension, the complainant
had not yet applied to the Federal Court for leave to seek judicial review of the pre-removal
risk assessment decision. The State party indicated that, in the absence of a Federal Court
order for a stay following a negative determination, it could not be assumed that it would
continue to defer the removal of the complainant.
State party’s observations on admissibility and the merits
5.1
On 26 June and 25 August 2014, the State party requested the Committee to lift
interim measures and submitted its observations on admissibility and the merits of the
communication. It considered that the Federal Court decision issued on 23 July 2013
denying the complainant’s application for leave to seek judicial review of the decision
rejecting his pre-removal risk assessment issued on 9 April 2014 “reinforced its position
that there was no evidence that the author would face a personal and real risk of torture in
Uganda”.
5.2
The State party reiterated that the communication was inadmissible on the ground
that the complainant had failed to exhaust domestic remedies, as he had not filed a
humanitarian and compassionate application.11 A successful humanitarian and
compassionate application would allow the author to remain in Canada as a permanent
resident.
5.3
The State party considers that the communication is inadmissible because the
complainant has failed to substantiate, even on a prima facie basis, that he faces a real and
personal risk of torture in Uganda. The domestic authorities found that the complainant’s
allegations were not credible or plausible with respect to central aspects of his claim. The
State party indicates that the Committee has found that it is not within its scope of review to
re-evaluate findings of fact or credibility by domestic decision makers. In particular, the
story of the complainant’s arrest and detention in 2007 for participating in a pro-gay protest
is not credible. There are significant inconsistencies and contradictions in the complainant’s
evidence and testimony with respect to that element of the story. For instance, the
complainant stated before the Refugee Protection Division that he was not able to
remember the exact date of his participation in the demonstration; he speculated that it
should have been about three days before 17 August 2007. However, he could not prove
that the demonstration took place a few days before that date. Furthermore, the release bond
submitted by the complainant is dated 24 August 2007, a week after the day he claimed in
his testimony before the Refugee Protection Division that he had been released, that is, 17
August 2007. There is also no mention of the complainant’s arrest and detention in R.M.’s
letter, despite the fact that, according to the complainant’s testimony, R.M. assisted him
after he was released by the police. There is no corroborative proof supporting the
11
6
In its submission dated 26 June 2014, the State party also considered that the communication was
inadmissible on the basis of non-exhaustion of domestic remedies owing to a pending pre-removal
risk assessment. However, in its submission dated 26 August 2014, the State party withdrew that
argument and informed the Committee that the complainant’s pre-removal risk assessment had been
denied.