CCPR/C/114/D/2389/2014
Danish Alien Act, the established practice was to grant residence permits to Iranians from
the Al-Tash refugee camp who were recognized as refugees by UNHCR, including those
who did not carry out any political activities. This practice changed in 2011 when it was
decided that Iraq could be considered as the first country of asylum of Iranian refugees
from the Al-Tash refugee camp, because they had lived in Iraq for many years. However,
Iraq would not accept non-Iraqi citizens and the Danish authorities continued to grant them
residence permits under section 7 (1) of the Act. In 2013, the Danish immigration service
started to refuse asylum claims from people coming from the Al-Tash refugee camp;
however, some still received residence permits following the decisions of the refugee
appeals board.6 The author considers that, in order to be able to change the established
practice, the State party should carry the burden of proof to demonstrate that the conditions
in the Islamic Republic of Iran had improved. He also claimed that the facts that he was not
registered in the Islamic Republic of Iran, did not speak Farsi and had no identity
documents increased the risk that he would become a “person of interest” for the Iranian
authorities if returned. The author also stated that he would not be able to pursue any
political activity in the Islamic Republic of Iran and that no one should have to interrupt his
or her political activities to avoid persecution.
2.5
On 18 March 2014, the refugee appeals board refused to grant asylum to the author
and gave him 15 days to leave the country. The board found that the author had made an
unclear, vague and unconvincing statement about his father’s political activities and
membership of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan. The board also took into account
that the author’s brother had not informed the Danish authorities about any political
activities carried out by his family members in Iraq when he was interviewed during his
own asylum proceedings. 7 It further considered that the author’s involvement in political
activities had not been clearly established, as he only became member of the Kurdistan
Freedom Party three months before departing Iraq in order to practice sports, and he only
participated in some of the party’s festive events. The board considered that the fact that the
author had been born and raised in the Al-Tash refugee camp was not a sufficient ground to
grant him a residence permit in Denmark. The board concluded that the author’s statements
had not demonstrated that he would face a real and personal risk of persecution by the
authorities if returned to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
2.6. The author indicates that he would not be able to return to Iraq, where some
members of his family still lived, because that country only provides identity documents to
Iraqi citizens,8 and not to refugees. The author therefore argues that he would not be
entitled to identity documents and that he would not be able to exercise his rights and to
access services necessary for his daily life.9 The author also argues that not having identity
documents is the reason why the Danish authorities would not deport him to Iraq, but to the
Islamic Republic of Iran, as they consider that it is futile to remove Iranian Kurds to Iraq
either voluntarily or by force.10
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4
The author quotes decisions from February and March 2014.
According to the board decision of 18 March 2014, the author’s brother had agreed that the
information contained in his asylum case file be used in the context of the author’s asylum
proceedings.
The author quotes a letter sent by the Iraqi Embassy in Copenhagen to the board on 28 November
2012 indicating that Iraq only provides travel documents to Iraqi citizens with identity documents.
The author mentioned that, owing to the lack of identity documents, he could not purchase anything
in his name in Iraq. For instance, he was not able to purchase a mobile telephone card.
The author provided a translation of a letter from the Danish National Police to the board dated
4 December 2012 that confirms this statement.