CAT/C/22/D/120/1998
page 2
Annex
VIEWS OF THE COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE UNDER ARTICLE 22,
PARAGRAPH 7, OF THE CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER
CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT TWENTY-SECOND SESSION
concerning
Communication No. 120/1998
Submitted by:
Sadiq Shek Elmi
[represented by counsel]
Alleged victim:
The author
State party:
Australia
Date of communication:
17 November 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 14 May 1999,
Having concluded its consideration of communication No. 120/1998,
submitted to the Committee against Torture under article 22 of the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
Having taken into account all information made available to it by the
author of the communication, his counsel and the State party,
Adopts its views under article 22, paragraph 7, of the Convention.
1.
The author of the communication is Mr. Sadiq Shek Elmi, a Somali
national from the Shikal clan, currently residing in Australia, where he has
applied for asylum and is at risk of expulsion. He alleges that his expulsion
would constitute a violation by Australia of article 3 of the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
The facts as submitted by the author
2.1
The author was born on 10 July 1960 in Mogadishu. Before the war he
worked as a goldsmith in Mogadishu, where his father was an elder of the
Shikal clan. The author states that members of the Shikal clan, of Arabic
descent, are identifiable by their lighter coloured skin and discernable
accent. The clan is known for having brought Islam to Somalia, for its
religious leadership and relative wealth. The author claims that the clan
has not been directly involved in the fighting, however it has been targeted
by other clans owing to its wealth and its refusal to join or support
economically the Hawiye militia. In the lead up to the ousting of