CAT/C/63/D/717/2015
commanding officer followed her. He started to choke her from behind, covered her mouth
and nose with his hands and raped her.3 The same night Z.H., and her son Ash.Sh., went to
live with her mother and brother. She indicates that, after that event, Ash.Sh. stopped
speaking for a few days and only communicated by nodding and shaking his head; he
started to wet his bed and became afraid of the police.
2.8
Z.H. left the Russian Federation illegally by car in the night of 11 to 12 December
2010, together with Ash.Sh. They arrived in Switzerland on 13 December 2010.
2.9
After the complainants had left the Russian Federation, several summonses4 from
the investigative officer and Zavodskoy District Court in Grozny, addressed to the first
complainant, were sent to his home address. In the summonses from the investigative
officer dated 20 January 2011 and 16 February 2011, A.Sh. was called to appear as a
witness, on 24 January 2011 and 18 February 2011 respectively, at the Grozny
Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. The
summonses from Zavodskoy District Court were dated 2 August 2011, 12 September 2011
and 17 October 2011. A.Sh. was called as a witness in a trial pursuant to article 208 of the
Criminal Code (organization of an illegal armed formation, or participation in it), with the
court hearings taking place on 8 August 2011, 23 September 2011 and 21 October 2011
respectively. The summonses were received by his father.
2.10 The brother of A.Sh. thereafter mandated a lawyer to enquire about the status of the
proceedings mentioned in the summonses. On 28 November 2012, the Department of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs in Chechnya 5 informed the lawyer that a criminal case had been
opened against A.Sh. pursuant to articles 314 (evading serving a sentence of deprivation of
liberty), 308 (refusal of a witness or a victim to give testimony) and 208 (organization of an
illegal armed formation, or participation in it) of the Criminal Code and that A.Sh. had not
participated in several court hearings. In the same letter, the lawyer was asked to disclose
the whereabouts of A.Sh.
2.11 On 23 January 2013, the cousin of A.Sh. was sentenced to three years’
imprisonment by the Supreme Court of Chechnya because of his alleged financial support
for Chechen insurgents.6 On 10 January 2015, the brother of A.Sh. was dismissed from his
duties as a police officer and detective of the criminal investigation department, allegedly
pursuant to an ordinary procedure.7 The complainants believe that the dismissal was an act
of reprisal.
2.12 The complainants sought asylum in Switzerland — A.Sh. on 3 November 2010 and
Z.H. on 14 December 2010. A.Sh. had a screening interview on 10 November 2010 with
the Federal Office for Migration.8 Z.H. had a screening interview on 20 December 2010.
Both had their substantive interviews on 9 March 2011.
2.13 On 29 December 2011, the Federal Office for Migration rejected the complainants’
asylum applications. It considered that the “disadvantages” alleged by the complainants
“were limited locally or regionally” to Chechnya and that therefore they had an internal
flight alternative in the Russian Federation. The Federal Office for Migration took into
account the fact that A.Sh. had been able to live in Ingushetia for two months prior to his
departure from the Russian Federation without any problems with the federal-level
authorities and also that he had been able to leave the Russian Federation on his own
3
4
5
6
7
8
The complainants provide an account of this episode, given by Z.H. to her therapist (available in
German). According to the information available on file, Z.H. was transferred to the University Clinic
for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in Bern by her general practitioner on 9 August 2012, due to
suicidal ideation and psychological stress. She had never spoken to anyone before about the rape she
had suffered, as she did not want her husband to know about it. In her view, and in accordance with
her cultural background, the rape brought dishonour on herself and her husband, and she feared that
her husband would kill himself out of shame.
Copies are available on file in the Russian original and in German translation.
A copy is available on file in the Russian original and in German translation.
A copy of the judgment is available on file in the Russian original and in German translation.
A copy of the dismissal order is available on file in the Russian original and in German translation.
Known as the State Secretariat for Migration as of 1 January 2015.
3