CCPR/C/116/D/2402/2014
1.1
The authors of the communication are A.A.I. and A.H.A., and they submit the
communication also on behalf of their children, A.A. and A.I., who are minors. The authors
are nationals of Somalia who are seeking asylum in Denmark and are subject to deportation
to Italy following the Danish authorities’ rejection of their application for refugee status in
Denmark. The authors claim that by forcibly deporting them and their children to Italy,
Denmark would violate their rights under article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights. The authors are represented by the Danish Refugee Council. The
Optional Protocol to the Covenant entered into force for Denmark on 23 March 1976.
1.2
On 27 May 2014, pursuant to rule 92 of the Committee’s rules of procedure, the
Committee, acting through its Special Rapporteur on new communications and interim
measures, requested the State party not to deport the authors to Italy while their case was
under consideration by the Committee. On 11 June 2014, the Refugee Appeals Board
suspended the time limit for the authors’ departure from Denmark until further notice, in
accordance with the Committee’s request.
1.3
On 23 February 2015, the Committee, acting through its Special Rapporteur on new
communications and interim measures, denied the State party’s request to lift the interim
measures.
Factual background
2.1
The authors were born on 1 October 1986 and 23 January 1989, respectively, in
Mogadishu, Somalia. They belong to the Gaaljecel clan, and are Muslim. They married in
March 2012 in Italy and have two children, A.A. and A.I., who were born in Denmark in
2013 and 2014 respectively.
2.2
The first author, A.A.I., fled Somalia in January 2009 after having been forcefully
recruited by the Al-Shabaab militia. He fears being killed by Al-Shabaab members if he is
returned to Somalia. In addition, during his forced recruitment, the first author was wrongly
accused of having killed a boy from the Biyomaal clan who was killed by Al-Shabaab. He
thus also fears being killed by Biyomaal clan members as revenge if he is returned to
Somalia.
2.3
On 28 June 2011, he arrived in Lampedusa, Italy, from where he was transferred by
the Italian police to Turin, where he applied for asylum. In Turin he was housed in a
reception centre. In October 2012, he was granted subsidiary protection and was issued
with a residence permit valid for three years, until 11 October 2015.
2.4
The second author, A.H.A., fled Somalia in November 2007 after she had been
assaulted by three armed uniformed Somali officials who searched her home and tried to
rape her. After her departure from Somalia, her home was searched again by officials who
were looking for her in connection with crimes she had not committed. The second author
fears being killed by the authorities if she is returned to Somalia. Furthermore, she fears
being killed if returned to Somalia owing to her husband’s conflict with the Al-Shabaab
militia.
2.5
In May 2008, the second author arrived in Italy and on an unspecified date, she
applied for asylum. She was housed in reception centres first in Sicily and then in Turin. In
early 2009, she was granted subsidiary protection by the Italian authorities and was issued
with a residence permit valid for three years. Subsequently, she was not permitted to stay at
the reception centre, so she moved into a shelter for homeless persons in Turin.
2.6
The second author’s residence permit allowed her to stay in Italy and work. She was
not receiving financial or any other assistance from the Italian authorities.
2.7
The homeless shelter where the second author was staying was overcrowded, violent
and also housed alcoholics, so she decided to move out and was living on the streets, in the
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GE.16-10167