CAT/C/64/D/783/2016 United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Distr.: General 1 October 2018 Original: English Committee against Torture Decision adopted by the Committee under article 22 of the Convention, concerning communication No. 783/2016*, ** Communication submitted by: H.R.E.S. (represented by counsel, Angela Stettler and Urs Ebnöther) Alleged victim: The complainant State party: Switzerland Date of complaint: 15 November 2016 (initial submission) Date of present decision: 9 August 2018 Subject matter: Deportation to the Islamic Republic of Iran Procedural issue: Lack of substantiation of claims Substantive issue: Risk of torture or risk to life, or risk of inhuman or degrading treatment, if deported to country of origin (non-refoulement) Article of the Convention: 3 1.1 The author of the communication is H.R.E.S.,1 a national of the Islamic Republic of Iran born in 1978. He applied for asylum in Switzerland, but his application was rejected. He claims that his forcible removal to the Islamic Republic of Iran would constitute a violation by Switzerland of article 3 of the Convention, as he fears facing a risk of being subjected to torture, or risk to his life, or inhuman or degrading treatment, in his country of origin, due to his homosexuality and atheism. The complainant is represented by counsel. 1.2 In his communication, the complainant requested that interim measures be granted in order to prevent his removal. On 18 November 2016, the Committee, acting through its Rapporteur on new complaints and interim measures, requested the State party to refrain from deporting the complainant to the Islamic Republic of Iran while his complaint was being considered by the Committee. The facts as presented by the complainant 2.1 The complainant is an Iranian citizen. He submits that he has shown signs of “nonconformity with prescribed gender roles” since he was 5 or 6 years old. He claims that when he was a child, he was dressing like a girl and wanted to have the body of a girl. When he was 13 years old, his father caught him dressed like a girl and beat him severely. * Adopted by the Committee at its sixty-fourth session (23 July–10 August 2018). ** The following members of the Committee participated in the consideration of the communication: 1 Essadia Belmir, Felice Gaer, Abdelwahab Hani, Claude Heller Rouassant, Jens Modvig, Ana Racu, Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón, Sébastien Touzé, Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov and Honghong Zhang. On 15 December 2017, the complainant requested the Committee not to reveal his identity. GE.18-16230(E) 

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