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