CAT/C/65/D/822/2017
interrogated for an hour by the court. 1 A day later, he was released on bail. To prevent
further persecution, he left the Islamic Republic of Iran on 9 April 2011.
2.2
The complainant arrived in Switzerland on an unspecified date and filed his first
asylum request on 4 July 2011, which was dismissed by the State Secretariat for Migration
on 23 September 2011 because he did not produce identity papers or credible reasons for
not being able to procure such documents. His appeal was dismissed on 13 October 2011
by the Federal Administrative Court.
2.3
In September 2011, the complainant became a member of the Democratic
Association for Refugees. Given his educational background, he was soon assigned more
responsibilities within the association. In 2012, he started to write communications and
publicize news on the association’s Persian web page, 2 as a part of a five-person team.
Since September 2013, he has been the sole person responsible for this web page.
2.4
On 23 July 2012, the complainant lodged a second asylum request, in which he
argued that he had been politically active as a member of the Democratic Association for
Refugees since September 2011, before the first decision on asylum had been issued. On 7
February 2014, the State Secretariat for Migration dismissed his request. The complainant’s
appeal was also dismissed by the Federal Administrative Court on 9 April 2014. The Court
held that the level of his exposure as a member of the Democratic Association for Refugees
was not sufficient to put him at risk of persecution in case of return to the Islamic Republic
of Iran, as his activity was not significantly different from the activity of other Iranians in
exile.
2.5
Since September 2014, the complainant has been the main person responsible for the
web page of the radio programme “Voice of the Resistance” (Stimme des Widerstandes)
and as an anchor for its weekly broadcast. Every six months, he prepares a report for the
executive committee of the Democratic Association for Refugees. The complainant is listed
as the only other contributor next to the editor. On the equivalent Persian website, it is
stated that the complainant is the person responsible for it. He also makes political
statements against the Iranian regime on his Facebook page, 3 where his full name and
photograph are public, and takes part in numerous demonstrations and rallies to take a stand
against oppression in the Islamic Republic of Iran and advocate adherence to human rights. 4
He signed a petition on 17 October 2012 to the former President of the Swiss Federal
Council, demanding the closure of the Iranian embassy in Bern due to known espionage by
embassy staff.
2.6
On 6 January 2015, the complainant lodged a third asylum request on the basis of
his ongoing political activity. On 30 January 2015, the State Secretariat for Migration
rejected his request. It had first dismissed the complainant’s request for a further hearing,
given that in this third application for asylum he had substantiated the facts in writing, with
the assistance of a lawyer. On the merits, the State Secretariat for Migration acknowledged
that the Iranian authorities monitored political activity abroad, but that they focused on
individuals perceived as being serious and dangerous opponents to the Government. The
Iranian authorities could distinguish between committed opponents and exile activists such
as the complainant, who were not politically active in the Islamic Republic of Iran and as
such were not a target for the authorities. The State Secretariat for Migration considered
that according to the documents produced by the complainant in support of his alleged high
level of political commitment to his activities, he focused on generally known
developments and events in the Islamic Republic of Iran, without distinguishing his
opposition from the usual forms of political opposition in exile. The State Secretariat for
Migration also observed that the complainant started to develop his political profile only
after the negative conclusion to his first asylum request, thus seeking to obtain a residence
1
2
3
4
2
No further details provided.
http://farsi.kanoun.ch.
He claims that his Facebook page contains a clear political statement, where he listed five reasons for
his dissident opinions against the Iranian regime. He provides some copies of his Facebook posts.
He submits that in the monthly magazine Kanoun, produced by the Democratic Association for
Refugees, he appears in numerous photographs, whether as a speaker, as the person responsible for
technical service or simply as a participant.