CAT/C/63/D/673/2015
request on the grounds that, according to the case file, the offences for which the
complainant claimed to have been sentenced were ordinary offences.
2.6
Following the Federal Administrative Court’s decision of 28 January 2014, a
deadline of 4 March 2014 was set for the complainant’s departure. Enforcement of the
expulsion order was suspended, however, due to the requests for reconsideration mentioned
above. On 21 January 2015, the Department of Justice of the Canton of Lucerne fined the
complainant 1,200 Swiss francs (SwF) for illegal residence in Switzerland. As he was
unable to pay the fine, the complainant was sent to prison for 33 days.
2.7
The complainant states that, after fleeing from Iran, he continued his political
activities. He has a blog in which he criticizes the Iranian Government. He has written
numerous political articles — all highly critical of the Iranian regime — which have been
shared widely online. He also presents and manages a radio programme called “Voice of
the Resistance”,5 which is broadcast by the LoRa radio station in Zurich.
2.8
The complainant suffers from post-traumatic stress, which worsened significantly
when his asylum application was rejected on 28 January 2014. As a result, he is no longer
able to engage in political activism. 6 However, many articles that he has written, criticizing
the Iranian Government, are still available and attract comments online, 7 as are many
episodes of his radio programme “Voice of the Resistance”.8
The complaint
3.1
The complainant maintains that he is a victim of a violation of article 3 of the
Convention by the Swiss authorities, who have ordered his expulsion to a country where he
will certainly be at risk of being subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment. He emphasizes that he is on a blacklist and will therefore be
arrested upon entering Iranian territory. Given his political involvement and activities in
Switzerland, his life and physical integrity are at considerable risk.
3.2
The complainant claims that the Swiss authorities, in particular the Federal
Administrative Court, did not take into account all the evidence submitted during the
asylum proceedings, which showed that his life and physical integrity would be threatened
if he were to be returned to Iran. He states that he clearly demonstrated that he had been
persecuted by the Iranian authorities on account of his activism since 2000 on behalf of
KDP, which is banned in Iran.
3.3
The complainant considers that the Federal Administrative Court had ruled
summarily that the many documents submitted did not demonstrate that he had the profile
of a known political opponent who would be at risk of being suspected or persecuted by the
5
6
7
8
GE.18-12643
2008 and that, if he did not attend the hearing, a judgment would be handed down in his absence. The
notification stated that, in order to ensure his presence, the proceedings would be covered by a major
newspaper. The complainant also provides another notification from the same court, dated 24 April
2008, stating that he had been sentenced in absentia to 4 years’ imprisonment for possession and
illegal sale of military weapons and ammunition. He was also informed that, if he wished to appeal
against the decision, he must do so within 10 days. In addition, the complainant provides a letter from
a lawyer, dated 18 March 2015, which confirms that he was sentenced on 9 January 2008 and that the
judgment was published in a newspaper as a means of informing the complainant that he must return
and serve his prison sentence. The letter also states that, in view of the complainant’s refusal to return,
his name had been placed on a travel blacklist, so as to ensure that he would be arrested by police
upon arrival in Iran, in accordance with his sentence for possession of weapons. However, the
complainant maintains that he did not commit any offence involving a weapon and that, when he was
arrested, he had had to sign a false confession in which he admitted to offences of that kind, otherwise
he would not have been released. He claims that criminal proceedings had been brought against him
because, as a Kurdish political activist, he had opposed the interests of the Iranian State.
Stimme des Widerstandes.
The complainant provides a medical assessment report, dated 14 March 2015, which confirms a
diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, caused partly by torture, and that he can no longer take
political action because of his state of health.
The complainant provides a list and copies of 10 articles, dated 17 March 2015.
The complainant provides a list of 40 one-hour broadcasts, written and presented by him (from the
website of radio LoRa, 17 March 2015).
3