Jesus Hope of Life NGO case

The author is from Pakistan and Christian by birth. He was a member of Jesus Hope of Life, an NGO. His task was to share the word of the Bible to people of other religions. During an event, he met a Muslim Mullah who strongly disapproved the author’s christian believes. Hereafter, the author received a threatening letter, had his car stolen and was attacked twice.

The author thus fled to Denmark and applied for asylum. The Refugee Board denied asylum to the author. The Refugee Board noted that, on the basis of submitted photos of the applicant’s leg, it can not be denied that the applicant has suffered physical damage, however, it is a type of damage that may well be caused by ordinary crime, traffic accidents, or other incidents. On that basis, a medical examination was denied. Thus a complaint was sent to CAT.

The committee concluded that by rejecting the author’s asylum request without seeking further investigation on his claim or ordering a medical examination, the State Party has failed to determine whether there are substantial grounds for believing that the complainant would be in danger of being subjected to torture if returned. Thus, the deportation of the author to his country of origin would constitute a violation of CAT.

 

20. July 2021

CAT 625/2014
  • Decision: 25. August 2017
  • Comm: Torture