CCPR/C/118/D/2569/2015
rejection of their application for refugee status by the Refugee Appeals Board of Denmark
on 20 January 2015. They claim that their deportation to Bulgaria would amount to a
violation by Denmark of their rights under article 7 of the Covenant. The Optional Protocol
entered into force for Denmark on 23 March 1976. The authors are represented by counsel,
Hannah Krog.1
1.2
The communication was registered on 13 February 2015. Pursuant to rule 92 of its
rules of procedure, the Committee, acting through its Special Rapporteur on new
communications and interim measures, requested the State party as an interim measure to
refrain from deporting the authors to Bulgaria, while their case was under consideration by
the Committee. On 23 February 2015, the Refugee Appeals Board suspended the time limit
for the authors’ departure from Denmark until further notice, in accordance with the
Committee’s request.
1.3
On 4 August 2015, the State party requested that the Committee review its request
for interim measures in the present case, as the authors had allegedly failed to render it
probable that, if deported to Bulgaria, they would be at risk of irreparable harm. On 15
March 2016, the Committee, acting through its Special Rapporteur, denied the State party’s
request to lift interim measures.
The facts as submitted by the authors
2.1
On 5 November 2013, B.M.I., N.A.K. and their daughter P. fled from the civil war
in the Syrian Arab Republic and arrived in Bulgaria on 14 November 2013. On 30 June
2014, they entered Denmark without valid travel documents and applied for asylum. As his
grounds for asylum, B.M.I. referred to his fear of being called up as a reservist in the Syrian
military if he returned to the Syrian Arab Republic. He also referred to the requirement by
the Syrian authorities that he work for them as an informer. The authors have not been
members of any political or religious associations or organizations, and they have not been
politically active in any other way. They have no family ties in Denmark.
2.2
In the Syrian Arab Republic, B.M.I. owned a cafeteria, which was frequently visited
by students because of its location close to a university. In view thereof, the Syrian
authorities required him to pass information about upcoming demonstrations, which he
refused to do. Consequently, he was detained in 2012 and in September 2013. He was also
summoned to meet the authorities three or four times. As her grounds for asylum, N.A.K
referred to her spouse’s conflict with the Syrian authorities and the general situation in the
country.
2.3
Upon arrival in Bulgaria, the authors were apprehended by the Bulgarian police, as
they had entered the country illegally, and detained at a detention facility for about 11 days.
The authors were then transferred to the camp for asylum seekers in Harmanli, where they
were handed a mattress, a pillow and a tent. It was winter; the tent was in very bad
condition and the ground was wet. The sanitary conditions in the camp were very poor,
with limited access to toilets and bathing facilities. Their daughter was crying every night
because she was afraid and very cold and N.A.K. was ill. The authors stayed in the camp
for two months. They paid a lawyer to represent their case and in particular to seek a
residence permit.
2.4
In the camp, a doctor told N.A.K. that there was something wrong with her stomach
and that she needed a thorough examination. She was told by the doctor that she could not
undergo the prescribed medical examination as she had no medical insurance.
1
2
Hannah Krog replaced the author’s original counsel, Cecilia Vejby Andersen from the Danish
Refugee Council, as of 23 October 2015.