CAT/C/30/D/192/2001
page 4
2.7
In a letter dated 27 August 2001 a copy of a judgement of 20 May 1999 by an
Al Hasakah court sentencing Mr. H. to three years’ imprisonment for belonging to a prohibited
organization was sent to the CRA. The Commission did not consider it appropriate to overturn
its interlocutory decision.
2.8
On 31 August 2001 a report from the Swiss section, Berne, of Amnesty International was
sent to the CRA; the report concluded that the complainants would very probably be imprisoned,
interrogated under torture and subjected to arbitrary detention if they returned to Syria. The
CRA did not change its original decision.
2.9
A letter dated 18 September 2001 providing confirmation of the risk to the
complainants - a letter of support from the Western Kurdistan Association - was sent to the CRA.
In a letter dated 19 September 2001 the CRA reiterated its rejection of the request for the
application for review to have suspensive effect and for expulsion to be deferred.
2.10 The complainants state that they have exhausted domestic remedies. They specify that
although the application for review has not yet been the subject of a judgement on the merits, the
expulsion decision has been enforceable since 23 July 2001.
The complaint
3.1
The complainants claim that there is a real risk that they will be subjected to torture if
they are expelled to Syria.
3.2
To substantiate this fear, they recall their various submissions to the Swiss authorities, in
particular the Amnesty International report, which, in their view, has not been taken at its true
value, and the copy of the judgement of the Syrian court, which has not been accepted as
evidence by the authorities. They stress that, having left their country three years earlier, they
would very probably, should they return, have to justify their stay abroad. They claim they
would be subjected to intensive interrogation by the authority authorizing departures and issuing
passports. They would be likely to be arrested by one of the Syrian secret services as they are
Kurds and have links with the Yekiti party. The complainants assert that this cannot have
escaped the notice of the Syrian authorities, particularly since they took part in a demonstration
in Geneva. Accordingly, the complainants maintain that there is every reason to believe that
they would be interrogated under torture regarding their relationships and contacts abroad as well
as their activities.
State party’s observations on admissibility and merits
4.1
In a letter dated 10 January 2001 the State party indicated that it was not contesting
admissibility. The State party noted that on 25 June 2001 the complainants had submitted an
application for review to the CRA, and that in a decision of 12 December 2001 it had been
rejected.
4.2
In a letter dated 20 May 2002 the State party formulated its observations on the merits of
the complaint.