CAT/C/23/D/121/1998
page 2
Annex
DECISION OF THE COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE UNDER ARTICLE 22 OF
THE CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN
OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT
TWENTY-THIRD SESSION
concerning
Communication No. 121/1998
Submitted by:
S. H. (name withheld)
[represented by counsel]
Alleged victim:
The author
State party:
Norway
Date of communication:
23 October 1998
The Committee against Torture, established under Article 17 of the Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
Meeting on 19 November 1999
Adopts the following:
Decision on admissibility
1.1
The author of the communication is S. H., an Ethiopian citizen born in 1965 currently
residing in Norway, where he has applied for asylum. His application, however, has been
rejected and he is at risk of expulsion. He alleges that his forced return to Ethiopia would
constitute a violation by Norway of article 3 of the Convention. He is represented by counsel.
1.2
In accordance with article 22, paragraph 3, of the Convention, the Committee transmitted
the communication to the State party on 19 November 1998. At the same time the State party
was requested, pursuant to rule 108, paragraph 9, of the Committee’s rules of procedure, not to
expel S. H. to Ethiopia while his communication was under consideration by the Committee. In
a submission of 19 January 1999 the State party informed the Committee that S. H. would not be
deported to his country of origin until further notice.
The facts as submitted by the author
2.1
The author belongs to the Amhara ethnic group. In 1991 his father, a doctor, disappeared
after having been arrested and has not been seen again. The author believes that his father’s
arrest and disappearance were due to his ethnic background and accusations that he was a