CAT/C/64/D/783/2016
United Nations
Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment
Distr.: General
1 October 2018
Original: English
Committee against Torture
Decision adopted by the Committee under article 22 of the
Convention, concerning communication No. 783/2016*, **
Communication submitted by:
H.R.E.S. (represented by counsel, Angela Stettler
and Urs Ebnöther)
Alleged victim:
The complainant
State party:
Switzerland
Date of complaint:
15 November 2016 (initial submission)
Date of present decision:
9 August 2018
Subject matter:
Deportation to the Islamic Republic of Iran
Procedural issue:
Lack of substantiation of claims
Substantive issue:
Risk of torture or risk to life, or risk of inhuman
or degrading treatment, if deported to country of
origin (non-refoulement)
Article of the Convention:
3
1.1
The author of the communication is H.R.E.S.,1 a national of the Islamic Republic of
Iran born in 1978. He applied for asylum in Switzerland, but his application was rejected.
He claims that his forcible removal to the Islamic Republic of Iran would constitute a
violation by Switzerland of article 3 of the Convention, as he fears facing a risk of being
subjected to torture, or risk to his life, or inhuman or degrading treatment, in his country of
origin, due to his homosexuality and atheism. The complainant is represented by counsel.
1.2
In his communication, the complainant requested that interim measures be granted
in order to prevent his removal. On 18 November 2016, the Committee, acting through its
Rapporteur on new complaints and interim measures, requested the State party to refrain
from deporting the complainant to the Islamic Republic of Iran while his complaint was
being considered by the Committee.
The facts as presented by the complainant
2.1
The complainant is an Iranian citizen. He submits that he has shown signs of “nonconformity with prescribed gender roles” since he was 5 or 6 years old. He claims that
when he was a child, he was dressing like a girl and wanted to have the body of a girl.
When he was 13 years old, his father caught him dressed like a girl and beat him severely.
* Adopted by the Committee at its sixty-fourth session (23 July–10 August 2018).
** The following members of the Committee participated in the consideration of the communication:
1
Essadia Belmir, Felice Gaer, Abdelwahab Hani, Claude Heller Rouassant, Jens Modvig, Ana Racu,
Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón, Sébastien Touzé, Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov and Honghong Zhang.
On 15 December 2017, the complainant requested the Committee not to reveal his identity.
GE.18-16230(E)