CAT/C/45/D/333/2007
who informed him that his father had been arrested by the national security services of
Uzbekistan, allegedly because of his involvement with ethnic Tatars and his friendship with
a well-known Uighur writer.
2.3
Not too long after his father’s arrest, after he had returned to Uzbekistan, the
complainant was allegedly arrested, interrogated about his father’s activities and subjected
to torture, such as beatings, kicks, placing of needles under his fingernails, sleep and water
deprivation, solitary confinement, continuous exposure to light and administration of
psychotropic drugs. He complains that he had blood in his urine and lungs. He was held in
detention for approximately one month. After his release, he fled, together with his wife
and daughter, to the United Arab Emirates. In 1998, his mother informed him that his father
had died in prison. Although the official cause of death was said to be “natural causes”, the
complainant and his family believe that he died from torture.
2.4
In November 2000, a person, identifying himself as a member of the Uzbek Ministry
of the Interior, approached him near his house in Dubai and told him he was wanted in
Uzbekistan. When the complainant told the person in question that he would not return, he
was threatened that there were ways to make him go back to Uzbekistan, including by
interfering with his visa. In December 2000, after this incident, the complainant left Dubai
for Germany, where he applied for asylum under a false name, for security reasons. His
claim was rejected. He subsequently travelled to Norway and filed a refugee claim there,
again under a false name, which was also dismissed.
2.5
In September 2001, the complainant entered Canada as a stowaway on an Icelandic
ship. On 15 September 2001, he filed a refugee claim in Canada. On 7 November 2002, the
Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) denied him refugee status, as he had failed to submit
credible and trustworthy evidence to establish that there was a reasonable risk to his life or
torture if returned to Uzbekistan. The IRB was also concerned about the identity of the
complainant and found his claim that he would be persecuted because of his Tatar ethnicity
implausible. The complainant appealed to the Federal Court, which denied him leave for
judicial review on 24 February 2003.
2.6
On 1 April 2003, the complainant applied for permanent residence on Humanitarian
and Compassionate Grounds (H&C) and on 19 June 2003, he submitted an application for a
Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA). On 11 May 2006, both applications for PRRA and
H&C were rejected, as it was determined that he would not be subjected to persecution,
torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The complainant claims
that the decisions in relation to both applications were issued by the same PRRA officer,
and that he did not receive proper notification of these decisions for more than six months.
His official request to receive the decisions was refused by PRRA in December 2006. On 5
February 2007, he applied for leave for judicial review of the PRRA decision to the Federal
Court. The Federal Court dismissed his appeal on 17 August 2007.
The Complaint
3.1
The complainant claims that he would be subjected to torture if he were forced to
return to Uzbekistan and that this would constitute a violation of articles 1 and 3 of the
Convention by Canada.
3.2
The claim is based on his Tatar ethnicity, allegedly a discriminated minority in
Uzbekistan, and the complainant’s past experience of torture with reference to the human
rights situation in Uzbekistan.
3.3
According to the complainant, this case is not under consideration by any other
international procedure of investigation or settlement.
3