CCPR/C/114/D/2389/2014
same date, the State party suspended the execution of the deportation order against the
author.
Factual background
2.1
The author was born to a Muslim Iranian family of Kurdish origin in the Al-Tash
refugee camp in Iraq in 1992. The author resided in the Barika refugee Camp in Northern
Iraq with his parents and six siblings from 2003 until July 2013, when he left for Denmark.
The author has never lived in the Islamic Republic of Iran and does not know of any family
members living there. The author and his family were granted refugee status in Iraq by the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).3 The author
claims that he gave up his refugee status and cannot return to Iraq.4
2.2
The author arrived in Denmark on 28 July 2013 and applied for asylum on 31 July
2013. On 23 August 2013, he was interviewed by the Danish immigration service about his
identity, travel route and grounds for seeking asylum. The author stated that the refugees in
the Barika camp were considered by the Iranian authorities to belong to political opposition
and that, in general, Iranians who fled to Iraq had been labeled as political refugees, even if
they did not have a political affiliation. He also informed the authorities that, as member of
the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, his father has been politically active. The author
himself had attended Party cultural celebrations and cultural activities organized by the
party Komala, and was a member of the Kurdistan Freedom Party.5 He specified that he had
initially become a member of the party as an opportunity to practice sports, rather than on
the basis of political convictions, but that he had participated in the party’s conferences. He
further explained that he had become member of the Party three or four months before his
departure from Iraq, but that he had been a supporter of the Party for about one year
beforehand. He explained that he feared expulsion to the Islamic Republic of Iran because
he would face execution by authorities owing to his previous status as political refugee and
his membership to the Kurdistan Freedom Party. The author also indicated that he had left
Iraq because he did not have any rights as a refugee there, that he was discriminated against
for being a Kurd and that he did not even have an identity document, a situation that
affected his daily life, including his access to employment and the exercise of his political
rights. The author provided the Danish authorities with a UNHCR refugee certificate issued
in November 2011. He also informed the authorities that his brother had been a refugee in
Denmark, his asylum having been granted on 27 August 2010.
2.3
On 31 October 2013, the Danish immigration service rejected the author’s
application for asylum, having considered that his political activities were too limited. The
Danish immigration service also considered that the author’s father was no longer
politically active, and that he had started his political activities only when he arrived in Iraq.
2.4
The author appealed to the Danish refugee appeals board. He claimed that Denmark
had previously given residence permit to people from Al-Tash refugee camp who were
recognized as refugees by UNHCR and that the change of practice from 2011 amounted to
discrimination. In this connection, the author explained that, under section 7 (1) of the
3
4
5
The author attached to his complaint a certificate issued by UNHCR indicating that his parents, three
of his siblings and himself were granted refugee status in November 2011. The certificate expired in
November 2013. In a later submission, the author indicated that his family had been granted refugee
status by UNHCR since late 1970s/early 1980s and that, in November 2013, his remaining family in
Iraq obtained a renewed refugee status certificate.
The author does not explain why or when he renounced to his refugee status in Iraq.
Danish authorities requested the Kurdistan Freedom Party to confirm that the author was member. A
copy of the author’s Party membership card was included in one of the annexes presented by the
author to the Committee.
3