CAT/C/21/D/91/1997 page 6 4.11 The State party argues that the general situation in Tunisia is not such that asylum seekers from that country can automatically be regarded as refugees and that the author should be able to argue plausibly that certain facts and circumstances exist that objectively justify his fear of persecution within the meaning of the law relating to refugees. 4.12 The author’s individual account is above all implausible. He has made conflicting statements on a number of points, including his nationality, the reasons for his journey to the Netherlands, the route by which he travelled there and his arrests in Tunisia. Furthermore, during the preparations for his expulsion to Tunisia it was established on the basis of fingerprints that he is known to the Tunisian authorities under the name of M. The inconsistencies in the author’s statements are of a substantive nature and indeed raise doubts about the general veracity of his claims. 4.13 The author has at no time been politically active, nor has he put himself in the public eye as such in any other way. During the proceedings he stated that he had no contact with the Al-Nahda party. He had problems solely because he had contacts with a teacher who was a member and had helped him to flee the country. Even if it is true that the author did help that person, he has not convincingly shown that he experienced problems with the Tunisian authorities as a result and that he was held in detention for nine days. Nor has the author argued convincingly that he is to be prosecuted and brought to trial. Even if this were true, the fact that the author was merely told to report back a month after his release certainly does not suggest that the Tunisian authorities consider him as a serious opponent. 4.14 The author has also argued that he had been found guilty of desertion. The State party does not consider this plausible, because it is based solely on a statement made by the author’s father and is not supported by any documentary proof. The State party does not believe, in any case, that he deserted on the basis of any political or religious conviction. It is not plausible that the author would experience problems upon returning to his country because of his desertion, since he cannot be regarded as a dissident. It has not been convincingly argued that any punishment imposed for refusal to perform military service will be disproportionately severe or that the author will be subjected to discriminatory persecution instead of an ordinary punishment. 4.15 The State party contends that whenever an asylum seeker states that he has been ill-treated or tortured the Immigration and Naturalization Service asks the Medical Assessment Section of the Ministry of Justice to give an opinion. The doctors attached to this section can either examine the person concerned themselves or seek the opinion of a medical practitioner who has treated him. Given the limited capacity of this section, however, asylum cases are only submitted to it for assessment when there are good reasons to subject the individual concerned to further examination in the interest of assessing his or her request for asylum. Aside from this, the individual concerned or his legal representative can always consult a medical practitioner independently. The latter can then supply a medical certificate stating that certain scars could have been caused by the alleged ill-treatment for use in the proceedings and the assessment of the request for asylum.

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