Last updated on July 22nd, 2021 at 09:30 am

Concerning A.A vs Denmark for violation of articles 6 and 7 of CCPR.

The author is a egyptian national and is against military dictatorship and refuses to perform military service. By the end of 2008 he received the first draft letter from the Army and he went into hiding. Exemption from military service is not an option in Egypt, and no alternatives to military service exist. The author is 27 years old right now (You have to serve in the army until the age of 30)  but can be punished with 7 years imprisonment when the author has avoided draft by leaving Egypt.

He fled to Italy in 2011 and sought asylum. He was granted a temporary residence first but finally the case was rejected and he was forced back to egypt. He then went into hiding again. In December 2013 he arrived in Denmark and applied for asylum. The Refugee Board rejected the author’s asylum case with the reasoning that “the author had failed to substantiate that he is wanted by the Egyptian authorities for failure to comply with a call-up for military service.’’

With regard to refusal of military service however, the Committee only considers risk of harm and not whether the refusal of military service is because of religion or other convictions. The Committee is of the view that it has not been demonstrated that the author would be at risk of forced military service if returned to his country of origin. The Committee therefore concludes that the author’s removal to Egypt would not violate his rights under article 7 of the Covenant.