CCPR/C/119/D/2338/2014
document from M. The author’s statement that he was not well during his first interview
with the Danish authorities did not change the Board’s assessment and he was ordered to
leave Denmark within seven days of the Board’s decision.
2.4
On 1 October 2013, the author requested the Refugee Appeals Board to reopen his
case. He indicated that he had converted to Christianity and that he had been baptized on 15
September 2013,8 after having studied the religion since February 2012. He claimed that if
returned to Afghanistan, he would be prosecuted for his beliefs because he had helped
preach the Christian message in Denmark. As an example of such activities, the author
referred to his participation in an event near the Round Tower in Copenhagen, photos of
which had been posted on the Internet and were available on YouTube together with a
description of their content in Farsi. On 30 October 2013, the Board rejected the author’s
request.9 The Board found no basis for reopening the asylum proceedings. It reiterated the
arguments made in its decision dated 31 January 2013, considered that the new asylum
grounds presented by the author did not justify any modification to the Board’s previous
assessment of the asylum application, as there was no information indicating that the author
had participated in church activities before or after his baptism, and pointed out that the
author had not explained why he had decided to convert to Christianity immediately prior
to his removal to Afghanistan.10 It also indicated that the author had failed to demonstrate
that the photos of the event in the Round Tower in Copenhagen had come to the attention of
the Afghan authorities. In addition, it considered that the author’s presence in such photos
was very limited, as he was just standing in the background. The Board further indicated
that the photos had been viewed a limited number of times on YouTube.
2.5
On 9 December 2013, the author’s new counsel succeeded in having his asylum case
reopened. Along with a baptism certificate issued by St. Luke’s Church, the counsel
submitted a statement made by a minister at the international Presbyterian Iranian church,
dated 10 November 2013, indicating that the author had regularly attended church services
and Bible studies three months before his baptism. The author’s counsel further submitted
another certificate dated 26 November 2013, in which the minister at the detention centre
where the author was held 11 indicated that he had attended the mass held there every
Thursday, starting in October 2013. The minister at the detention centre also indicated that
the author had been subjected to “massive harassment” by the Muslim detainees due to his
conversion to Christianity. The author’s counsel further stated that at the time of his
baptism, the author was unaware that he would later be detained for the purpose of
removing him to Afghanistan. A statement by a friend of the author in Denmark, dated
February 2012, was also submitted. It indicated that the author and his friend had discussed
Christianity on several occasions, as from the beginning of 2012. Finally, the author stated
that he feared being called up for his compulsory military service upon his return to
Afghanistan.
2.6
On 16 January 2014, the Refugee Appeals Board rejected the author’s asylum claim
once again. It considered that his fear of being forced to perform his military service did not
make him eligible for refugee status. It also considered that despite the baptism certificate
and the ministers’ certificates submitted, the author had failed to substantiate that his
conversion was genuine. The Board also took into account that the author had never shown
any interest in religion previously, 12 and that although he was an articulate man, he failed to
provide the Board with a reasonable explanation of his reasons for being baptised into
Christianity. In addition, the author did not inform the Danish authorities about his interest
in this religion until the time of his forcible return was approaching. Against this
background and taking into account the author’s credibility issues during his initial asylum
8
9
10
11
12
The author submitted to the Board a baptism certificate issued by St. Luke’s Church. He did not
submit a copy of the certificate to the Committee.
The State party has provided a translation of the decision.
See para. 4.5 below.
The author was arrested and detained in order to be expelled. However, he does not provide any
further information on the circumstances of the arrest or on the detention period.
In his statement to the Board dated 8 January 2014, the author indicated that he had been born in a
Muslim family, but that he was not religious.
3