CAT/C/67/D/775/2016 worked for the secret service of the dictatorship. After the fall of the regime, in 1991, the complainant’s mother was imprisoned for having worked for the dictatorship. She was tortured for many years in prison, where she died. 2.2 Holding the ruling regime responsible for his parents’ death, the complainant became an active opponent of the regime. In 2005, he joined the Kinijit party. His role within the party was to mobilize young voters, recruit new members and distribute flyers. The Kinijit party prevailed in elections held in 2005, but the Government refused to accept the election results. In protest, the complainant threw stones at police officers and set cars on fire. Thereafter, he was persecuted and went into hiding. 2.3 In October 2006, the Ethiopian secret service located the complainant and imprisoned him, first in Maekelawi prison and then in Zone prison. While in prison, he was beaten and subjected to ill-treatment. The beatings left scars on his back. He was released in February 2007 for lack of evidence incriminating him. 2.4 In 2009, the Government banned the Kinijit party. The complainant became a member of the successor underground party, Ginbot 7, which had been founded in May 2008 by Berhanu Nega and Andargachew Tsege, former members of the Kinijit party. Ginbot 7 established a clandestine network of activists both in Ethiopia and abroad. Within Ginbot 7, the complainant resumed the role he had occupied in the Kinijit party. He was taken into police custody several times because of his affiliation with Ginbot 7, but he was released each time for lack of evidence. When his supervisor was imprisoned in 2013, the complainant decided to leave Ethiopia, fearing that his supervisor would be tortured and would reveal information about the complainant. Before leaving Ethiopia, the complainant told his wife to go into hiding with their two children. 2.5 On 26 or 27 May 2013, the complainant left Ethiopia by car, accompanied by a smuggler. They stayed in the Sudan for one month and then flew to Switzerland. On 28 June 2013, the complainant arrived in Switzerland and applied for asylum. On 8 July and 15 August 2013, he was interviewed by the then Federal Office for Migration, which was renamed the State Secretariat for Migration in 2015. On 3 November 2015, the State Secretariat denied the complainant’s asylum application. On 14 January 2016, the Federal Administrative Court issued an interim decision rejecting the complainant’s application for legal aid, on the ground that the appeal appeared prima facie to lack merit. On 30 August 2016, the Court denied the complainant’s appeal. No further domestic remedies are available. 2.6 In Switzerland, the complainant has pursued his political activism against the Government of Ethiopia by participating in several events. On 20 November 2013, he participated in a demonstration in front of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Bern to protest against violence faced by Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia. On 7 August 2014 and 20 March 2015, he participated in protests in Geneva against the detention of the Secretary-General of Ginbot 7. During the latter protest, the complainant tore up a flag of the ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front party and marched in the front line of the demonstration, next to Afework Agedew, one of the leaders of Ginbot 7. On 3 October 2015, he attended the fifth anniversary celebration of Ethiopian Satellite Television and Radio (ESAT), which was considered by the Government of Ethiopia at the time as a propaganda outlet for dissident groups. During the celebration, the complainant was photographed with a well-known dissident priest. On 25 January 2016, the complainant participated in a protest in Geneva for global solidarity with the Oromos. A video recording of the rally posted on the Internet shows the complainant marching in the front line and kneeling down as if he were a prisoner. On 28 February 2016, he participated in a rally for Ginbot 7 and was photographed with Ephrem Madebo, the leader of Ginbot 7 in the United States of America. On 5 June 2016, the complainant attended a fundraising event for Ginbot 7 and was photographed standing at a lectern next to Mr. Nega. On 16 August 2016, the complainant participated in a public demonstration in Geneva to protest against the crackdown on opposition in Ethiopia. The complainant also provides regular monetary contributions to the Ethiopian Relief and Development Organization in Switzerland. 2

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