CAT/C/22/D/104/1998
page 5
context in Kurdistan and Khozestan. During the years 1992-1996 he underwent
further training at a school of torture. However, he did not himself inflict
torture on prisoners but only had to “watch”. On some 40 occasions he
executed punishment in the form of whipping. By means of substantial bribes
to a member of Sepha, he was able to leave Iran with a valid passport despite
the fact that he was not entitled to leave the country.
4.9
The author further contended that the assertion in the decision of the
National Immigration Board that he had retired was not correct, since he was
too young to retire. He had waited for two months before applying for asylum
after his arrival in Sweden because he was very depressed. However, he
contacted the police as soon as he began to feel better. For many years he
had felt a strong attraction to Christianity. In Sweden he attended tuition
at St. Andrews Church in Gothenburg and converted to Christianity on
23 June 1996. If it should come to the knowledge of the Iranian authorities
that he had converted to Christianity, it would mean certain death. He is
very concerned about his children and his spouse since he does not know what
their situation in Iran is. The family may be punished because of his
desertion.
4.10 On 21 April 1997 the Aliens Appeals Board turned down his appeal. The
Board stated that it could be seen from the author's passport that he
underwent the usual passport control in Tehran airport, which meant that he
was not of particular interest to the authorities at the time of his departure
from Iran. The Board also noted that persons who leave from Tehran airport
undergo strict controls. The claim that he was only able to leave Iran with
the aid of bribes was therefore not deemed reasonable. At the same time the
Board did not find the claim that he was active within the armed forces and
therefore under a prohibition to travel at the time of his departure to be
credible.
4.11 The Board also pointed out that the author waited for more than two
months after entering Sweden before applying for asylum which suggests that he
did not feel a great need for protection when he arrived. Regarding his
conversion, the Board considered that a convert does not run any significant
risk of harassment by the authorities as a result.
4.12 On 30 October 1997 the Aliens Appeals Board examined a new application
for asylum filed by the author, with which he submitted a document, dated
11 June 1996, which he claimed had recently been given to him by an
acquaintance and had been obtained through bribes. He asserted, inter alia,
that the document had been drawn up by a “prosecutor at the revolutionary
court centre in Iran” and proved that the author was wanted in Iran. This was
a later development since he was clearly not wanted by the police when he left
Iran.
4.13 The author subsequently submitted a copy of a judgement
dated 15 July 1996 which he claimed had been drawn up by Iran's supreme
military tribunal. He stated that the crimes he is guilty of are that he
left his position as a security officer in Sepah, joined groups that oppose
Islam, endangered the security of the State and unlawfully left the country.
He stated that he had received the document in question by post from Iran.