Communication No. 209/2002 Submitted by: M.O. (represented by counsel, Ms. Birte Falkesgaard-Larsen) Alleged victim: The complainant State party: Denmark Date of complaint:24 May 2002 The Committee against Torture, established under article 17 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Meeting on 12 November 2003, Having concluded its consideration of complaint No. 209/2002, submitted to the Committee against Torture by Mr. M.O. under article 22 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Having taken into account all information made available to it by the author of the complaint, his counsel and the State party, Adopts the following decision under article 22, paragraph 7, of the Convention. 1.1The complainant is Mr. Milo Otman, an Algerian national, currently residing in Denmark and awaiting his deportation to Algeria. He claims that his forcible return to Algeria would constitute a violation by Denmark of article 3 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. He is represented by counsel.a 1.2On 5 June 2002 the Committee transmitted the complaint to the State party. On 7 March 2003, pursuant to rule 108, paragraph 1, of the Committee’s rules of procedure, and following a belated request by counsel on 7 February 2003, the State party was requested not to expel the complainant to Algeria, pending consideration of his case by the Committee. Facts as submitted by the complainant 2.1The complainant served in the Algerian army between approximately 1991 and 1998, where he served as a corporal in a weapons store. He claims that in 1994, he was contacted by representatives of the Groupe Islamique Algérien (GIA), who asked him to work for them. He refused. In 1994, for reasons not specified, he was sent to a military prison. There is no indication as to whether the complainant was tried or convicted, or of precisely when he was released from prison. 2.2The complainant claims that in 1996, the authorities learned of the GIA’s previous contact with him, and that in 1998 he was again arrested and sent to prison, on suspicion of having supplied the GIA with weapons, ammunition and food. He was allegedly interrogated and tortured by the Algerian security forces, and, unable to bear the torture, admitted to having worked for the GIA. He claims, amongst other things, that he was kicked forcefully in the genitals, that electric shocks were applied to his genitals, shoulders, hands and feet, and that he was threatened with reprisals against his mother if he did not cooperate. He contends that his physical condition became so critical that he had to be transferred to a military hospital, from which he managed to escape. As he was still a member of the armed forces at the time of his escape, this made him a deserter. 2.3The complainant arrived in Denmark in 1999, and applied for asylum with the Danish Immigration Service (DIS) on 28 December 1999. His application was rejected on 2 March 2001, and on 21 August 2001, the Refugee Review Board (Review Board) upheld the DIS’s decision. The Review Board found that the complainant’s testimony about his reasons for seeking asylum was unreliable, and that there were discrepancies in his account of events. It found insufficient evidence to establish that the complainant had been tortured in Algeria. The Review Board noted a report prepared by Amnesty International, which found no signs of mental trauma, although marks on the complainant’s body were consistent with some of the types of torture described. The Review Board concluded that the evidence did not justify a decision to grant him asylum. 2.4The complainant subsequently underwent a psychological examination, which concluded that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and displayed the signs of dissociation often seen in a person who had been subjected to torture. The report noted that the complainant would cease participating in conversation when emotional topics were raised, and that he experienced flashbacks. It noted that the complainant was not able to concentrate on certain questions, because of his fear of being tortured again, and that he found it difficult being questioned by men, as his torturers had been men. The report also concluded that his ability to present a story in an interview had been affected by his post-traumatic stress disorder. On 14 September 2002, based on the psychologist’s report, he applied to the Refugee Board to reopen his case. The application was refused on 24 January 2003. 2.5The complainant attributes the inconsistencies in his story to several factors. First, he says that the interpreter provided to him spoke an “eastern” form of Arabic which he did not properly understand. His first language is said to be French. Secondly, he claims that, as demonstrated by the psychologist’s report, he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and states that, in telling his story to the Danish authorities, he relived his experiences of torture, which caused him great anxiety. He claims that being kept in detention by the Danish authorities traumatized him and made it much more difficult for him to provide a cogent and consistent account of his experiences. He refers to the psychologist’s report, which concluded that his apparent untrustworthiness could be attributable to his psychological dissociation. 2.6Finally, the complainant refers to the UNHCR country report on Algeria dated 11 12 June 2001, which states that torture is widely practised in Algeria, and that deserters from the army, such as the complainant, face persecution and torture if they are returned to Algeria.