CAT/C/63/D/673/2015
Decision under article 22 (7) of the Convention against
Torture
1.1
The complainant is D.R., an Iranian citizen, born on 29 August 1980. He applied for
asylum in Switzerland, but his application was rejected. He is facing deportation to the
Islamic Republic of Iran and claims that his forced repatriation would constitute a violation
by Switzerland of article 3 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment. He is represented by Mr. Marcel Zirngast.
1.2
On 20 April 2015, the Committee against Torture, acting through its Rapporteur on
new complaints and interim measures, requested the State party to refrain from deporting
the complainant to Iran while his complaint was being considered by the Committee.
The facts as submitted by the complainant
2.1
The complainant is an Iranian national of Kurdish ethnicity and a supporter of the
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). He claims that, on an unspecified date, he volunteered
to take part in an operation to free 10 Kurdish students who had been imprisoned. The plan
was uncovered by the authorities, however, and the complainant was arrested in December
2005, then imprisoned and tortured in various prisons by the Iranian security forces. 1 He
was released upon receipt of a bail payment and statements of guarantee from his family in
February/March 2006. In March 2006, he travelled from Iran to Turkey.
2.2
On 7 September 2008, the complainant entered Switzerland and filed an asylum
application. On 22 March 2012, after he had attended two hearings in person, 2 the Federal
Office for Migration (which is now called the State Secretariat for Migration) rejected his
application for lack of credible grounds and ordered his expulsion from Switzerland. The
Office drew attention to numerous contradictions in the complainant’s story, which the
complainant was unable to explain. On 19 April 2012, the complainant filed an appeal
against this decision with the Federal Administrative Court. 3
2.3
On 28 January 2014, the Federal Administrative Court dismissed the complainant’s
appeal on the grounds that he did not have the profile of an opponent of the regime who
might be considered dangerous by the Iranian authorities.
2.4
On 15 April and 1 May 2014, the complainant filed two requests for reconsideration
of his application with the Federal Office for Migration based on his mental state, on the
grounds that he was suffering from post-traumatic stress as a result of his persecution in
Iran. On 16 July 2014, the Federal Office dismissed his requests, arguing that his mental
health problems had begun only after the Federal Administrative Court had handed down
its ruling on 28 January 2014. This decision was upheld by the Federal Administrative
Court on 3 September 2014.
2.5
On 29 December 2014, the complainant submitted another request for
reconsideration of his application, on the grounds that an Iranian court had sentenced him in
absentia to 4 years’ imprisonment and that his name was on a blacklist that had allegedly
been circulated to banks and airports in the country to ensure that he was arrested upon
arrival in Iran. 4 On 14 January 2015, the Federal Administrative Court dismissed the
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4
2
The complainant provides a letter from a lawyer, dated 17 March 2015, which states that several
charges, including possession of weapons and ammunition, clashes with the police and defiance, had
been brought against him. The letter states that the complainant was arrested and imprisoned on 24
January 2006.
The complainant attended hearings on 13 October 2008 and 21 September 2009. On 27 August, 13
October and 16 November 2009, 19 July 2010 and 21 January and 28 September 2011, the
complainant submitted additional evidence.
On 7 June 2012, the Federal Office requested that the complainant’s appeal be dismissed. On 27
November and 18 December 2012 and 3 December 2013, the complainant submitted additional
evidence.
The complainant provides an English translation of a notification from the Islamic Revolutionary
Court of Tehran, dated 1 December 2007, informing him that his case would be heard on 6 January
GE.18-12643