Concerning Mr. S.Z vs Denmark for violation of articles 6, 7, 13 and 26 of CCPR.

The following case has been decided. The Committee has on the 28 July 2016 decided that the communication is inadmissible under article 2 of the Optional Protocol.

The author is an Afghan national who arrived in Denmark in 2014 and applied for asylum. The author arrived as a minor without accompanying family and explained that he was fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan. The applicant has further explained that he comes from Kabul, and he is Tjadjik.

One day on the way home from work in a taxi, 3 other people entered the car. One took out a knife and the other a gun, which they put to the applicant’s temple. The applicant was then abducted and kept in isolation in an old house for five days. On the way into the house the applicant saw equipment used to make bombs and weapons. During his detention, he was beaten and tortured. The applicant knows that it was the Taliban who had captured him as it can only be Taliban who kidnaps young boys and does something like what happened to the author. The author was afraid that he would be used as a suicide bomber. He managed to escape through a window and flee to Denmark.

The immigration service rejected the author’s application for asylum and the refugee board upheld that decision on the 28 April 2015. The Refugee Board did not find it plausible that the author was able to escape from Taliban.

Since the author has been living in the western world he risks being perceived as being contrary to Islamic rules, and to be supportive of the Government and/or the international community. Since he is of fighting age he also risks being forced to fight for either the Government or the Taliban. Reports about sexual assaults on young men are also very common. He has no protection since he has no family left in Afghanistan and he belongs to a minority ethnic group, Tadjik. Furthermore it is argued that the Afghan Government has recently informed that not even Kabul is safe any more. For this reason it is argued, that the author should not be forced to go back at the moment since the activities of Taliban (including the attacks in central Kabul) are intense right now. The author however argues that he fears for his life because he is in danger due to his refusal to assist Taliban and his escape from detention. Thus a complaint was sent to CCPR.