CAT/C/65/D/765/2016
United Nations
Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment
Distr.: General
31 January 2019
Original: English
Committee against Torture
Decision adopted by the Committee under article 22 of the
Convention, concerning communication No. 765/2016*, **
Communication submitted by:
X (represented by counsel, Tarig Hassan)
Alleged victim:
The complainant
State party:
Switzerland
Date of complaint:
15 August 2016 (initial submission)
Date of present decision:
23 November 2018
Subject matter:
Deportation to Ethiopia
Procedural issue:
Lack of substantiation of claims
Substantive issue:
Risk to life or risk of torture or inhuman or
degrading treatment, if deported to country of
origin (non-refoulement)
Article of the Convention:
3
1.1
The complainant is Mr. X, a national of Ethiopia, born on 18 January 1977. He
entered Switzerland illegally on 8 June 2011 and applied for asylum on the same date. His
request for asylum was rejected on 13 July 2016 by the Federal Administrative Court, and
his expulsion was ordered in compliance with the decision of the Federal Office for
Migration dated 29 April 2014. He was requested to leave Switzerland by 18 August 2016,
otherwise he would be forcibly removed. No date for his forcible removal has been fixed.
1.2
The complainant submits that his forcible removal to Ethiopia would constitute a
violation by Switzerland of his rights under article 3 of the Convention as he fears he would
face a real and imminent risk of torture by the Ethiopian authorities. He requests that
interim measures be taken to prevent his removal in order to avoid irreparable harm to his
physical and mental integrity. The complainant is represented by counsel.
1.3
On 16 August 2016, the Committee, acting through its Rapporteur on new
complaints and interim measures, requested the State party not to deport the complainant to
Ethiopia while his complaint was being considered.
The facts as presented by the complainant
2.1
The complainant is a citizen of Ethiopia, of Oromo ethnicity. He grew up in Dembi
Dolo. He comes from an environment supportive of the Oromo Liberation Front; he himself
* Adopted by the Committee at its sixty-fifth session (12 November–7 December 2018).
** The following members of the Committee participated in the examination of the communication:
Essadia Belmir, Felice Gaer, Abdelwahab Hani, Claude Heller Rouassant, Jens Modvig, Ana Racu,
Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón, Sébastien Touzé, Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov and Honghong Zhang.
GE.19-01530(E)