CCPR/C/113/D/2523/2015
the Syrian Arab Republic, and did not mention the fact that he had been issued a residence
permit in Greece. His application was processed within the Dublin procedure after the State
party’s authorities found prior registration of the author’s illegal entry into Norway. On an
unspecified date, the Danish Immigration Service requested the Norwegian authorities to
accept the author’s transfer under the Dublin Regulation. The Norwegian authorities
refused to accept him, noting that the author had never applied for asylum in Norway and
had a residence permit and refugee status in Greece.
2.5
On 7 December 2014, the Danish Immigration Service refused to process the
author’s request for asylum and refused to allow him to stay in Denmark, owing to his
refugee status in Greece and given that he could return and reside legally there. The
decision of the Immigration Service was appealed to the Immigration Appeals Board on 6
January 2015. This appeal does not have suspensive effect. The author’s deportation to
Greece was scheduled for 9 January 2014.
The complaint
3.1
The author claims that his rights under article 7 of the Covenant will be violated by
the State party in the event of his deportation to Greece. He claims that he would risk being
targeted by neo-Nazis there, due to his prior assault, during which his documents were
confiscated and destroyed, his photo was taken and he received death threats. He fears that
he would not be able to avail himself of the protection of the Greek authorities.4
3.2
The author also claims that his deportation would expose him to substandard living
conditions, lack of social assistance from the authorities and no prospect of finding a
durable humanitarian solution, thus subjecting him to inhuman and degrading treatment,
contrary to article 7 of the Covenant.
Issues and proceedings before the Committee
4.1
Before considering any claim contained in a communication, the Human Rights
Committee must determine whether it is admissible under the Optional Protocol to the
Covenant.
4.2
As required under article 5 (2 (a)) of the Optional Protocol, the Committee has
ascertained that the same matter is not being examined under another procedure of
international investigation or settlement.
4.3
The Committee observes that in his original asylum request before the State party’s
authorities, the author invoked different grounds from those invoked before the Committee.
In his asylum request, he claimed, for instance, that he feared a return to the Syrian Arab
Republic, while the complaint before the Committee is based on his fear of return to
Greece. The Committee also notes the author’s allegation of having been attacked by
affiliates of an extremist party before leaving Greece and the fact that the State party was
not informed of this assault by the author in his asylum application.
4.4
The Committee further notes the author’s claim regarding the poor living conditions
of individuals in similar situations in Greece and a lack of adequate assistance by the
authorities. At the same time, however, the Committee observes that the author is not an
4
The author refers to the following international sources to substantiate his claim about widespread
xenophobia in Greece and lack of protection from the authorities: Human Rights Watch, Unwelcome
Guests: Greek Police Abuses of Migrants in Athens (12 June 2013); report by Nils Muižnieks,
Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, following his visit to Greece from 28
January to 1 February 2013; United States Department of State, “Country report on human rights
practices 2013 – Greece”, 27 February 2014.
3