CAT/C/46/D/379/2009
secretary in the parish of Nouvelle Cité de David, a Christian protestant radical parish. Her
partner was supposed to be the next pastor. The pastor was a strong opponent of the regime,
and openly criticized the authorities in several sermons. The complainant, who was his
secretary, shared his political views. Due to the tense situation in the region, the parish was
particularly observed by the military forces, who wanted the pastor to help them spread
their political message. As the pastor refused to do this, he was arrested several times. The
pastor's second and third arrests happened on 3 August 2004 and on 23 or 24 December
2004, respectively. During his last one-day detention he was allegedly severely tortured
and, as a consequence of the torture endured, he died shortly after his release. After the
death of the pastor, the surveillance of the parish increased. The security forces were aware
of the complainant’s activity as secretary to the pastor and also that she shared his opinions
and political beliefs. She feared for her life and security but, due to her strong faith and
commitment to the parish, she decided to stay in Lubumbashi.
2.2
On 30 September 2005, the complainant and her partner were arrested by the
security forces. No grounds for the arrest were given. They were taken to different prisons,
and this was the last time she saw her partner. Meanwhile, their two children and the
complainant’s sister were left in the house. Some members of the security forces remained
in their house as well and the complainant believes they looted her house and took, inter
alia, her identity documents.
2.3
The complainant does not know the name of the prison where she was imprisoned.
During her detention, which lasted from 30 September 2005 until 22 February 2006, she
was tortured, beaten on her legs and her back and repeatedly raped, sometimes several
times a day. The torture suffered has permanently marked her and as a result, she is now in
constant distress.
2.4
On 22 February 2006, the complainant managed to escape from prison with the help
of friends from the parish who bribed the prison personnel. Immediately after her escape,
she fled to Kinshasa where she met a nun who helped her leave the country1. Therefore, she
could not return home to look for her two children who had been left behind when she was
arrested. According to the complainant, their whereabouts remain unknown.
2.5
The complainant allegedly2 arrived in Sweden on 27 February 2006 and applied for
asylum the same day. Her request for asylum3 was rejected by the Migration Board on 11
July 2007. The Board stated that the complainant had failed to prove her Congolese
identity, although it acknowledged that she speaks the language of the region from which
she claims to originate. The Board held that the general situation in DRC does not
constitute grounds for asylum. As for the individual circumstances of the complainant, the
Board questioned her trustworthiness, indicating that she failed to adduce any documents
proving her identity. It referred to the fact that the complainant, unlike the pastor, held no
leading position within the parish, and also found improbable the allegations in relation to
her detention and her account of how she travelled to Sweden.
2.6
The complainant appealed to the Migration Court. On that occasion, the author
supplemented her initial asylum application with two documents: the medical report
1
The complainant did not pay for the trip and does not specifically mention who paid for it. She
travelled to Sweden on fake documents and claims that it was the nun who carried all travel
documents.
2
The complainant claims to have arrived to Sweden on 27 February 2006.
3
In order to substantiate her claim regarding the physical and mental health problems she
experiences, the complainant submitted to the Migration Board a report issued by a district medical
officer from Sweden documenting, according to the complainant, her back troubles and the pain in
her legs.
3