CCPR/C/131/D/3069/2017
2.13 On 22 October 2017, the author was baptized while he was in detention. 12 On 25
October 2017, the author again claimed before the Migration Board impediments to the
enforcement of the expulsion order and requested a re-examination of his case, as he had
converted from Islam to Christianity. On 26 October 2017, the Migration Board decided to
reject his application owing to the fact that he had not raised issues relating to his alleged
Christian faith earlier, even though he had had a chance to do so in the Migration Court before
9 August 2017, and therefore his claims regarding his conversion to Christianity were not
deemed credible.13 On 17 November 2017, the Migration Court rejected the appeal as it also
found the information provided by the author about his conversion not credible. 14 On 4
December 2017, the Migration Court of Appeal denied the request for leave to appeal.
Complaint
3.1
The author submits that his deportation to Afghanistan would constitute a violation of
his rights under articles 6 and 7 of the Covenant. He claims he will be persecuted by his father,
the Afghan authorities and the general population because of his renegation of Islam and
conversion to Christianity, which is punishable by death under Afghan law.15 The author
contends that according to the vengeful Afghan culture, the fact that he reported his father to
the police damaged his father’s honour, which can only be restored through the author’s death.
His father must therefore kill him to restore his lost honour.16
3.2
The author notes that there has been no adequate examination of his conversion by
the Migration Board and thus there has been no opportunity for him to demonstrate to the
deciding authorities the genuine nature of his change of faith. He claims a failure of the
principle of due diligence on the part of the State party and that an oral hearing for asylum
claims on the basis of religion must be held to discharge the State party’s positive obligations
under international law. He also notes that the assessment of the Migration Board about the
delay in invoking his conversion to the Christian faith in the asylum process displays a lack
of understanding of the psychological and emotional background of the author as a young
person with a long history of abuse and fear of his parents.17
3.3
In that connection, the author puts forward a number of factors of vulnerability: he is
a young man who is a victim of domestic violence, with absolutely no social and linguistic
ties to Afghanistan since he was born and grew up in the Islamic Republic of Iran, he is of
Hazara ethnic origin and he has converted to Christianity. All those elements would make it
difficult for him to be integrated into Afghan society and increase the risk of trafficking,
forced recruitment by the Taliban, involvement in the drug trade and so on. He claims that
12
13
14
15
16
17
4
The author alleges that in 2016, he started dating a Christian girl who took him to church many times,
where he felt at peace and connected to Jesus. He started to view Islam as a cause of war, while he
was touched by evangelical messages of love and forgiveness. The author also alleges that he
associates Islam with his abusive father, as he was afraid of Allah as someone cruel, like his father.
The author explains that he was initially afraid to get baptized for fear of his parents but when he was
informed by the police that his parents had left Sweden, he felt safe enough to get baptized.
There was no oral hearing on his conversion to the Christian faith.
The Migration Court concurred with the reasoning of the Board and also noted that the judgment in
the conviction of the author’s father did not reveal any motive for the assault, thus the document does
not support the author’s claim that his father threatened him on religious grounds. It also found that
the threatening letter of the author’s father had been examined in the previous proceedings and was
thus not a new circumstance.
The author refers to country reports stating that it is not possible to live openly as a Christian convert
in Afghanistan. The author also notes that his conversion is known about in Afghanistan.
The author refers to the report, by the Country of Origin Information Centre (Landinfo),
“Afghanistan: blood feuds, traditional law (pashtunwali) and traditional conflict resolution” (2011),
which describes the honour and revenge culture of Afghanistan. It also states that 80 per cent of all
murders in Afghanistan are connected to revenge, which is strongly linked to honour, and that failure
to take revenge is perceived as a sign of moral weakness.
The author submits that his father, a very religious Shia Muslim, had always pressured him to follow
Islam since they had lived in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The author was physically abused and
beaten by his father whenever he questioned Islamic religious doctrines and practice. The author
alleges that he has a panic attack with a strong feeling of fear of his father when he thinks about his
return to Afghanistan.