COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE
X v. Switzerland
Communication No. 17/1994
17 November 1994
ADMISSIBILITY
Submitted by: X [name deleted]
Alleged victim: The author
State party: Switzerland
Date of communication: 22 August 1994
The Committee against Torture, established under article 17 of the Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
Meeting on 17 November 1994,
Adopts the following:
Decision on admissibility
1. The author of the communication is X, a Zairian citizen, currently residing in Switzerland.
He claims to be a victim of a violation by the Swiss authorities of article 3 of the Convention
against Torture. He submits the communication on his own behalf and on that of his
companion.
The facts as submitted by the author:
2.1 The author, who was born in 1964, states that he has been a member of the Union pour
la démocratie et le progrès social (UDPS) since 1986. Since a close relative was in charge
of the UDPS in his hometown, the author was entrusted the task of distributing invitations
for illegal meetings, which were usually held at the house of a family member. Because of
his age, the author himself almost never attended these meetings.
2.2 In January 1988, the author attended a public gathering organized by the UDPS. When