CCPR/C/118/D/2608/2015
1.1
The authors are R.A.A., born on 1st December 1992, and Z.M., born on 20 June
1991, a couple who are nationals of the Syrian Arab Republic. The female author was five
months pregnant when the communication was submitted. 1 The authors were scheduled to
be transferred from Denmark to Bulgaria within the Dublin procedure on 11 May 2015. The
authors claimed that their deportation to Bulgaria would put them and their unborn child at
a risk of inhuman and degrading treatment in violation of article 7 of the Covenant. The
authors were initially represented by the Danish Refugee Council and subsequently by
Hannah Krog.
1.2
On 10 May 2015, pursuant to rule 92 of the Committee’s rules of procedure, the
Committee, acting through its Special Rapporteur on new communications and interim
measures, requested the State party to refrain from deporting the authors to Bulgaria, while
their case was under consideration by the Committee.
1.3
On 29 September 2015, the Committee, acting through its Special Rapporteur on
new communications and interim measures, denied the State party’s request to lift the
interim measures.
Factual background
2.1
The authors entered Bulgaria in June 2014. They claim that upon arrival they were
stopped by the Bulgarian police and that the male author was subjected to physical abuse in
the form of punches and blows with batons all over his body. The female author was pulled
by the hair, beaten with batons and frisked without her clothes. On arrival at the police
station, they were once again victims of abuse and were detained for five days. Their
belongings were taken away and not returned. Once released, they were sent to a reception
facility. The authors indicate that the conditions in the reception facility were very bad and
that they rarely ate the food that was served, as they had repeatedly found worms and
insects in it. The authors further indicate that, as a result of the unsanitary conditions at the
reception facility, the female author got an infection in the lower abdomen, that she
approached the doctor at the asylum centre, but was denied medical assistance and told that
the system would collapse if all asylum seekers received treatment for their diseases. 2 She
claims that she had to endure the pain until she arrived in Denmark, where she received
medical treatment.
2.2
The authors also indicate that the male author suffers from a heart condition in the
form of an enlarged heart muscle, making it more difficult for the heart to pump blood.
They allege that he collapsed at the reception facility, but that he was only given painkillers.
He then went to the local hospital, but was rejected because he did not have a residence
permit at the time. When he went back with his permit, he was given an appointment that
was postponed three times without a reason being given, so he relinquished his efforts.
They further claim that the male author needs an echocardiography control every six
months and requires to be hospitalized as early as possible to do a telemetry monitoring. 3
They state that given his health conditions and his predisposition to the disease, he may
have to go through surgery to implant a defibrillator.
1
2
3
2
The baby was born in Denmark on 1 October 2015.
No information is available as to the person who made such a comment.
The authors provide a medical certificate stating that the male author has a DI422 hypertrophic
cardiomyopathy, non-obstructive. It states that he was hospitalized on 26 and 27 February 2015
because of an epicrisis. The certificate further indicates that the author is very susceptible to DI422
hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, as his father and brother died of a cardiac arrest and two of his brothers
have ICD pacemakers due to the same condition. The author will be called for a bike test and an
echocardiography within six months, which will then be carried out every six months.