CAT/C/28/D/180/2001
page 4
2.5
Still blindfolded, the complainant was brought in for a new interrogation, this time about
his contact with his cousin. At this time, he was not aware that his cousin had been executed.
He was told that his cousin had reported to the Security Service that he was involved in the
armed part of the Islamic movement, which he denied. Consequently, he was kicked and hit
with a stick while the people present were laughing at him. After this inquiry, the complainant
was brought back to his cell, were he was detained for eight days, during which he was
blindfolded and handcuffed for two days. He was then brought in the boot of a car to another
place, where interrogations started all over again. During 11 hours of interrogations which
aimed at making the complainant admit his involvement with the Islamic movement, he was
beaten and kicked, and then placed on the floor with his feet tied to an upright stick, beaten
underneath his feet, and subjected to electric shocks. Finally, he was given a piece of paper,
which he was told was his explanation, and he signed, without knowing the contents of it. He
was then returned to his cell.
2.6
After 7-8 days of further detention, the complainant was brought to an office, where
two men questioned him whether he had been well treated in prison, which he answered in the
affirmative. He was faced with two alternatives; either to serve lifetime imprisonment, or to spy
on people who met at the mosque. In order to escape prison, the complainant agreed to spy on
people at the mosque, and was released on 15 July 1996, under orders to report to
Security Service every Thursday.
2.7
The complainant appeared before the Security Service every Thursday until he left for
Tripoli on 21 or 22 August 1996. During his detention, the complainant had decided to leave
Libya, but also that he would wait a while before leaving, so as not to risk harming his family.
However, another person from the complainant’s neighbourhood participating in the same group
as he, F.E., and who had been arrested and released on the same day as he, was again arrested in
August 1996. This event made the complainant leave immediately for Tripoli. Later on, he
learnt that his brother had been arrested and detained for almost a month because the
complainant had left. Towards the end of 1997 or early 1998, the complainant was also
informed that his friend F.E. had died in prison.
2.8
In Tripoli, the complainant stayed with a relative while waiting for a visa for Denmark
that he had applied for before his arrest, in order to go and visit his brother. Since the issuance
of a visa took longer than expected, the complainant requested that the visa should be sent to
Malta. On 26 August 1996, the complainant sailed illegally to Malta, having had an
acquaintance provide an exit stamp for his passport.
2.9
On 27 August, the complainant arrived in Malta, where he obtained the requested visa,
and he continued to Denmark on the same day. He entered Denmark with a passport that expired
on 24 February 2000 which was last prolonged on 25 October 1995. It contained a visa issued
by the Danish consulate in Valetta, Malta. He went first to visit his brother. After some time, he
met a woman whom he married in October 1996, and on 6 January 1997, he was granted a
residence permit because of his marriage. The couple separated in April 1998, moved back
together in March 1999, but finally divorced in December 2000. On 24 April 1997, the
complainant applied for asylum.