CAT/C/20/D/83/1997
page 3
2.2
On 9 May 1991, the author left Ukraine to visit her parents, and she
arrived in Peru on 11 May 1991. She intended to stay in Peru until
August 1991. When arriving in Palcamayo she learnt from her family that her
parents' house had been searched by government soldiers in February the same
year. The soldiers had confiscated books and magazines, some of which had
been sent by the author from Ukraine. The author's parents had been taken to
a prison, where the father had been severely beaten and tortured before they
were released. Her father told the author that she should return to Ukraine
as soon as possible since it was dangerous for her to stay in Peru. She
nevertheless decided to stay a couple of days with relatives in Tarma.
2.3
On 16 May 1991, the author took a bus from Tarma to Palcamayo, in order
to visit her parents. According to the author, the bus was stopped on the way
by two men belonging to the Sendero Luminoso. They forced the author off the
bus and she was raped and held as a prisoner for one or two nights before she
managed to escape. Her parents reported the matter to the police, but
according to the author they did not show any interest in the matter. The
author then returned to Ukraine on 19 May 1991.
2.4
A short time after her return to Ukraine, explosives went off at the
doorstep of her parents' house, wounding an aunt and a cousin. According to
the author, the explosion was a revenge for her escape.
2.5
The author arrived in Sweden on 12 March 1993 and requested asylum
two weeks later. On 27 January 1994, the Swedish Immigration Board rejected
her application, considering that there were no indications that she was
persecuted by the Peruvian authorities, and that the acts by Sendero Luminoso
could not be considered as persecution by authorities, but criminal
activities. The Aliens Appeal Board rejected the author's appeal on
8 June 1995, adding that the risk of persecution from non-governmental
entities like Sendero Luminoso could in exceptional cases constitute a ground
for granting refugee status, but that an internal flight alternative existed
in the author’s case. A new application, based on the alleged rape and
medical evidence showing that the author suffered from a Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder, was turned down by the Board on 19 April 1996. On 10 February 1997,
a second application, invoking humanitarian reasons, was rejected by the
Aliens Appeal Board. A third application, based on a letter to the Board from
the Human Rights Watch and further medical evidence to support her claim, was
turned down on 23 May 1997.
The complaint
3.1
The author considers that there exists a substantial risk for her to be
subjected to torture both by Sendero Luminoso and the State authorities, for
which internal flight is no safe solution.
3.2
The author further claims that, in view of her fragile psychiatric
condition and the severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from which she is
suffering as a result of her having been raped by Sendero Luminoso members,
the deportation as such would constitute a violation of article 16 of the
Convention.