CCPR/C/117/D/2469/2014
2.7
The author asked for vacation to visit his sister and her husband in Kandahar. Two
days after he left, he received a call from a colleague informing him that A.M.W. had been
released. During his family visit, while the author and his sister were away, his brother-inlaw was killed. The victim was found dead with stab wounds and his head cut off.
Neighbours had reportedly heard some men outside the house asking about an interpreter
and for the author, using his first name. The author unsuccessfully tried to contact M.W. on
several occasions. Two days after the funeral of his brother-in-law, the author, his sister and
her children left for Iran.
2.8
The author arrived in Denmark on 27 September 2011 and applied for asylum on
30 September, on the grounds of fear of an Afghan colonel with connections to the Taliban
from whom he had kept information. The immigration service rejected the application on
13 July 2012 owing to inconsistencies in dates, which had affected credibility. The refugee
appeals board subsequently rejected the application on 31 January 2013. The author claims
that he has exhausted domestic remedies.
2.9
The author refers to the 2012 report of the Danish immigration service on the risk to
Afghan employees of western companies, especially interpreters, of assault and murder by
rebel groups, including the Taliban. In that context, the author also refers to pages 34 and
35 of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Asylum Seekers
from Afghanistan.4
The complaint
3.1
The author invokes article 7 of the Covenant. He alleges that his brother-in-law was
killed by people allegedly linked to A.M.W., who is connected to the Taliban, and fears that
he himself has been persecuted by the Taliban. He fears that, if returned to Afghanistan, he
would be at risk of assault or abuse from the Taliban and the local population because he
worked for American forces for two years and is perceived as a traitor.
3.2
The author states that the inconsistencies in his reported dates5 were due to the
pressure he had felt during the interview with the immigration services and the fact that he
had not been familiar with the Gregorian calendar, which had been used throughout the
process, as opposed to the Afghan calendar.
3.3
Although he cannot be sure that the murder of his brother-in-law is related to the
conflict with A.M.W., the author knows for sure that the individuals who attacked his
brother-in-law had been searching for him. He therefore assumes that the events were
related to the conflict with A.M.W., especially since they coincided with the latter’s release
from detention. The author believes that, if forcibly returned to Afghanistan, as a former
interpreter for the American forces, he would be persecuted by the Taliban and the local
population, in violation of his rights under article 7 of the Covenant. 6
3.4
The author’s employment as an interpreter for the coalition forces between 2009 and
2011 has been documented by letters and recommendations that were communicated to the
Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
4
5
6
Available from www.refworld.org/docid/570f96564.html.
The author stated that A.M.W. had been arrested in June, whereas it had in fact been in May, and that
he had left on vacation in July 2011, instead of June.
The author refers to page 35 of the UNHCR Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International
Protection Needs of Asylum Seekers from Afghanistan, which states that “Anti-Government elements
have reportedly threatened and attacked Afghan civilians who work for international military forces
as drivers and interpreters or in other civilian capacities”.
3