CAT/C/22/D/104/1998 page 4 4.5 During the initial investigation following the author's first request for asylum he stated that he had worked at a “Sepah-Pasdaran” and his duties were to spy on the anti-revolutionary forces in Iranian Kurdistan. In the course of his work he was given training in methods of torture, and he mistreated people. He also took part in executing people without trial. Since he was not considered mentally strong enough to carry out torture he was ordered to obtain information about opponents of the regime and to hand it over to the authorities. He also stated that he had not been able to tell his spouse and children about his work and that he left Iran because he could not bear his work any longer. Since members of the military are not allowed to have passports legally, he obtained one through bribery. He did not know anything about an exit permit. He converted to Christianity on 23 July 1996. Finally, he said that if he returned to Iran he would be in danger of execution. 4.6 On 5 September 1996 the National Immigration Board rejected the author's application for asylum. The Board noted that he had travelled from Iran on a valid Iranian passport and exit permit, which means that at the time of his departure he was not of particular interest to the Iranian authorities. The Board considered that this fact was further supported by the author's earlier application for a residence permit, in which he had stated that he no longer worked for the Pasdaran. The Board found it extremely unlikely that he would be allowed to leave Iran if, at that point in time, he was active in the military service in the way he described. The information on how he bribed a person at the airport at the time of his departure was deemed not to be credible. 4.7 Moreover, the Board pointed out that the author waited over two months before applying for asylum, which is an indication that he did not regard his situation in his home country as particularly serious. Consequently, the Board did not find his claim that he runs the risk of arousing the authorities' special interest on his return to Iran to be credible. The Board concluded that there were no reasons to believe that by returning to his home country, the author would risk exposure to the kind of persecution or harassment that would constitute grounds for asylum. The Board did not find any other reason for granting a residence permit. It considered that the kind of activities that the author said he took part in in Iran, inter alia executing people without trial, are crimes against humanity as referred to in article 1 F of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. Regardless of any judgement about his credibility, such a circumstance is sufficient reason to refuse asylum, in accordance with the 1951 Convention. 4.8 In his appeal to the Aliens Appeals Board the author maintained that he had been a so-called special agent. He submitted copies of two identity cards to the police in Boras in January 1996. One of the cards, which was issued by a competent authority, shows that he had terminated his service as a special agent, although in fact he had not. The second card shows that he was still employed and active as a special agent. This card was exclusively intended for national use. He further stated that in Iran people who have opposed the regime, been drug traffickers or carried on other undesired activities may be “got rid of” without a trial and that he used to receive orders from his superiors that a certain undesired person should disappear. From 1988 to 1992, he was part of a group within Sepha which carried out activities in that

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