CAT/C/39/D/308/2006
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military, warrants, etc.; (5) copies of all decisions by the Swedish migration authorities and
any documents related to the deportation date; and (6) confirmation whether the complainant
and her family were in hiding at the time of submission of the complaint.
1.3 The complainant replied on 19 and 23 October 2006, and on 17 November 2006. She
confirmed that her family was not in hiding and provided partial information on some of the
above questions. Information received from the complainant is incorporated into the factual
background. Many of the questions reproduced in paragraph 1.2 above, however, remained
unanswered. The complainant, inter alia, did not adduce any documentary evidence attesting
to R. A.’s mistreatment in the Azerbaijani military.
1.4 No deportation date was provided, as the Swedish authorities have allegedly refused to
indicate the exact date, but the complainant claimed that the deportation could happen any
time. She does not invoke any specific articles of the Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the facts as presented, however, may
raise issues under article 3.
1.5 In accordance with article 22, paragraph 3, of the Convention, the Committee
transmitted the communication to the State party on 24 November 2006, and requested it,
under Rule 108, paragraph 1 of the Committee's rules of procedure, not to expel the
complainant and her family to Azerbaijan while their complaint is under consideration by the
Committee. The request was made on the basis of the information contained in the
complainant's submissions and could be reviewed at the request of the State party in light of
information and comments from the State party and the complainant.
1.6 By submission of 9 May 2007, the State Party informed the Committee that following
the request by the Special Rapporteur on New Complaints, the Swedish Migration Board
decided on 5 December 2006 to stay the enforcement of the expulsion orders against the
complainant and her family.
Factual background1
2.1 The complainant and her husband are Azerbaijani nationals of Azerbaijani origin,
although R. A.'s mother is claimed to be of Armenian ethnicity. R. A. was 10 years old at the
time when an armed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia broke out. His mother had to
leave Azerbaijan, leaving her son behind with his father. R. A. was hidden by his father for a
long time and could not go to school. When he was 16 years old, the authorities refused to
issue him an Azerbaijani passport. When he attained the age of military duty, he hid for
several months in order to avoid being enlisted, as he feared that anything could happen to
him while in the Azerbaijani army. On an unspecified date, his whereabouts were established
by the Azerbaijani authorities and he was made to serve.
2.2 The couple applied for asylum in Sweden on 8 September 2003, allegedly three days
after they arrived. They carried neither travel nor identity documents; no identity documents,
or other documents issued by Azerbaijani authorities, were presented to the Swedish asylum
authorities. An initial interview was conducted with the complainant and her husband on 15
1
As the facts were unclearly described by the complainant, the factual background in the
present complaint was reconstructed mainly on the basis of the decisions of the Swedish
authorities.