Condemned by political party and accused of terror attack

Concerning S. vs Denmark for violation of articles 1, 7 and 9 of CCPR.

The author is a member of the Jamaat-e-Islami, a political party that opposes the Government of Bangladesh. Since 2007, he has been regarded as a non-cooperative member of the party, who should be punished. He stopped his political activities when the party became too extreme and dangerous. After the author disobeyed and left, he was summoned by the leaders and attacked and beaten with iron and had his stomach cut with a razor. A few days after the attack, the Jamaat-e-Islami was accused of committing a terrorist attack during a demonstration, in which two cars were set on fire and two people died. The author learned that the authorities believed that he was connected with this crime, even though he had not taken part in it. The author claims that if he were deported to Bangladesh, he would risk being imprisoned and tortured because of the false charges against him for crimes committed by the Jamaat-e-Islami and because he would be considered as a member of that organization, and that the authorities are very harsh with its members. He submits that he would be arrested and tortured and could even be sentenced to death, in violation of his rights under article 9 (1) of the Covenant.

The Committee observes that the author has not pointed to any procedural irregularities in the decision-making procedure by the State party and therefore considers that, while the author disagrees with the factual conclusions of the Board, he has failed to show that they were arbitrary or manifestly erroneous or amounted to a denial of justice. The Committee can therefore not conclude that the author would face a personal and real risk treatment contrary to article 7 of the Covenant in case of his return to Bangladesh.

16. February 2024

CCPR 2642/2015
  • Decision: 26 March 2018
  • Comm: Human Rights