CCPR/C/116/D/2327/2014
ineligible to file applications for pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA) and for permanent
residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds (H&C).1
The complaint
3.1
The author submits that the State party would violate her rights under articles 6 (1),
7, 9 (1) and 26 of the Covenant by forcibly removing her to Bangladesh, where S. (her
sister L.’s former brother-in-law and a police inspector) has threatened to kill her family
unless they withdraw their complaint against his brothers and his friend. She also fears the
vengeance of her brother’s three killers, whose death sentences were recently reversed. The
author maintains that both the police force and the judiciary in Bangladesh are undermined
by widespread corruption and impunity,2 and that it is therefore impossible to obtain
protection from the State authorities there.
3.2
The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada erred in finding that the author was
not credible simply because she was not specifically mentioned in the documentary
evidence she presented concerning her brother’s murder or in the subsequent threats. She
provided a copy of the complaint she made at the police station in Dhaka concerning death
threats she had received via telephone.3 The author also presented to the Committee a new
statement by her sister L. to support her allegation that she had been subjected to violence
and threats. The author also asserts that she has never had a fair opportunity to contest the
merits of the Board’s decision because leave for judicial review of a decision of the Board
is granted only in about 10 per cent of cases.
3.3
The author further submits that she is suffering from severe depression and anxiety,
and that her symptoms are so grave that they interfere with her daily functioning. 4
State party’s observations on admissibility
4.1
In its observations dated 24 June 2014, the State party considers that the
communication is inadmissible under articles 2 and 5 (2) (b) of the Optional Protocol
because the author has not exhausted domestic remedies. On 15 March 2014, she became
eligible to file PRRA and H&C applications, and on 1 April 2014, she filed a PRRA
application. This means that her allegation that she would be at risk upon return will be
assessed prior to her removal. If her PRRA application is denied, she will be able to seek
judicial review of that decision and can also seek a judicial stay of removal while her
application for judicial review is pending. As she has filed a PRRA application, her
1
2
3
4
The author cites Canada Immigration and Refugee Protection Act subsection 25 (1.2) (c) and
article 112 (2) (c).
The author cites, inter alia, United States Department of State, Bangladesh 2012 Human Rights
Report, 19 April 2013; U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Center, Transparency International and Chr.
Michelsen Institute, Overview of corruption and anti-Corruption in Bangladesh, 7 November 2012;
and Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2013: Bangladesh.
The author provides a translation of the complaint, which is dated 5 January 2011. In the complaint,
the author states, “An unknown caller from his phone number [xxx] has been calling me again and
again at my personal mobile phone number [xxx] for the past 4/5 days and intimidating and
threatening me in various ways, including death threats. Whenever I asked about his address and
identity, the caller cut off the phone.”
The author provides a psychological evaluation report dated 19 November 2012 by psychologist Lise
Libarian, who states: “[Y] needs professional care to help her with her depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress. She needs to be followed by a psychiatrist and be prescribed medication to help
alleviate her severe depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress. Along with medication and
psychotherapy, her depression, anxiety and potential risk of suicide will eventually diminish.”
3