CAT/C/71/D/834/2017
surgery on his ankle in January 2012.7 He claims that his scars were the result of torture, as
claimed in the asylum procedure, and that he suffers symptoms indicating a post-traumatic
stress disorder.8 On 16 November 2012, the Immigration and Naturalization Service rejected
his second application for a temporary stay permit submitted on medical grounds. The
complainant applied for the judicial review to the Zwolle District Court. On 5 December
2012, a judge granted an interim measure request of the complainant not to be expelled until
the judicial review was completed. On 3 September 2014, the District Court declared the
application for judicial review to be well founded and ruled, however, that the legal
consequences of the decision of the Immigration and Naturalization Service of 16 November
2012 remained in effect.
2.9
On 12 December 2014, the Administrative Jurisdiction Division reviewed the
complainant’s appeal and declared it manifestly unfounded.
2.10 Lastly, the complainant’s third and fourth applications for temporary asylum
residence permit were rejected on 13 January 2015 and 31 January 2017, respectively.
2.11 The complainant submits that in August 2016, he decided to return home. In that
context, he visited the Sri Lankan Embassy in The Hague to obtain travel documents. He
submits that he had to provide detailed information about his family members and on his
asylum interviews with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The complainant
submits that he changed his mind and decided not to return to Sri Lanka where he might be
subjected to torture or ill-treatment. The complainant claims that shortly after his visit to the
Embassy, he was detained by the authorities of the State party. 9
2.12 On 10 April 2017, the complainant was released from custody, and then went into
hiding.
2.13
The complainant asserts that he has exhausted the domestic remedies.
Complaint
3.1
The complainant submits that given that he was already arrested on suspicion of links
with three LTTE members, he would face a real risk of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
if he were returned to Sri Lanka.
3.2. He claims to belong to a group of persons who are at risk of torture by the Sri Lankan
authorities upon return because: he is a young male of Tamil origin; he has visible scars and
injuries; he left Sri Lanka illegally and would return on an emergency passport from a country
where funds were raised for LTTE; he has previously been detained on suspicion of having
ties with LTTE; he has applied for asylum in the Netherlands, and he attended the Heroes’
Days celebration in the Netherlands, which was organized by LTTE. 10
3.3
The complainant also claims that both the Border Agency of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada have
reported that individuals with visible scarring upon arrival to Sri Lanka undergo
investigations by the authorities to search for links with LTTE. The complainant additionally
explains that, according to the report of the International Truth and Justice Project, 11 post7
8
9
10
11
Reference is made to medical information from the General Practitioner, dated 27 January 2012
(submitted in Dutch).
The complainant submitted a medical report by the Institute for Human Rights and Medical
Assessment, dated 8 November 2011 (submitted in Dutch).
No additional information was provided by the complainant in this regard.
Concerning fundraising by LTTE in the Netherlands, the application refers to the following: on 23
October 2011, the Media Centre for National Security of the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence and
Urban Development reported at its website that a Dutch court had sentenced five LTTE activists to
serve between 2 and 6 years in prison on the accusation of having raised 130,000,000 euros for LTTE.
Dutch police had made the arrests in June 2010 after an investigation into the organization.
The International Truth and Justice Project is administered by the Foundation for Human Rights in
South Africa and is specialized in the documentation of and the gathering of information related to
post-conflict human rights violations in Sri Lanka. Reference is made to the following report:
International Truth and Justice Project Sri Lanka, A Still Unfinished War: Sri Lanka’s Survivors of
Torture and Sexual Violence – 2009–2015 (July 2015).
3