CAT/C/23/D/86/1997
page 2
Annex
DECISION OF THE COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE UNDER ARTICLE 22
OF THE CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN
OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT
TWENTY THIRD SESSION
concerning
Communication No. 86/1997
Submitted by :
P. S. (name withheld)
[represented by counsel]
Alleged victim:
The author
State party:
Canada
Date of communication:
19 June 1997
The Committee against Torture, established under article 17 of the Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
Meeting on 18 November 1999,
Adopts the following:
Decision on admissibility
1.1
The author of the communication is P. S., an Indian national born in the Punjab in 1944
and currently resident in Canada, where he is seeking asylum and faces deportation. He claims
that his return to India would constitute a violation by Canada of article 3 of the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. He is
represented by counsel.
1.2
In accordance with article 22, paragraph 3, of the Convention, the Committee brought the
communication to the attention of the State party on 3 September 1997.
Facts as presented by the author
2.1
The author used to be a farmer belonging to the Bhrat Kissan Union, a trade union whose
objective is to put pressure on the federal Government to improve agriculture and conditions for
farmers. He was arrested and detained for several days in 1989, 1990 and 1992. In