Concerning X (represented by Helle Holm Thomsen) vs Denmark for violation of articles 7 and 26 of CCPR.

The author was born to a Muslim Iranian family of Kurdish in Iraq and he resided in the Barika refugee Camp. The author was discriminated against for being a Kurd and that he did not even have an identity document, a situation that affected his daily life, including his access to employment and the exercise of his political rights. Thus the author fled to Denmark and applied for asylum. He also informed the authorities that his brother had been granted asylum in Denmark.

The refugee board found that the author had made an unclear, vague and unconvincing statement about his father’s political activities. The board also took into account that the author’s brother had not informed the Danish authorities about any political activities carried out by his family members in Iraq when he was interviewed during his own asylum proceedings. Due to the negative decision, a complaint was sent to CCPR.

The Committee considers that the State party did not sufficiently take into account the potential personal risk for the author if returned to the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Committee, therefore, considers that the removal of the author to the Islamic Republic of Iran would constitute a violation of article 7 of the Covenant.