Fighting drug-related crimes in Afghanistan case

The applicant is an Afghan national born in 1985. In Afghanistan, he worked as an agent working to fight drug-related crimes. As part of the work, he collaborated with several English-speaking organizations such as the Narcotics International Unit and the Drug Enforcement Administration of the United States of America. Due to his work, he was sought by the Taliban, who knew him because he had assisted in securing the arrest of two drug lords affiliated with the Taliban. He received written threats, he had been a victim of an abduction attempt, and his brother had been kidnapped and killed. Therefore, he fled to Denmark and sought asylum.

The applicants request for asylum was denied at the Danish Immigration Service and subsequently the Danish Refugee Appeals Board on 21 May 2013. He requested reopening of the case at the Board, but on the 17 of March, few hours before his scheduled deportation, he received a refusal of the reopening. With no time to send a complaint to an international body, the applicant was deported back to Afghanistan.

The applicants counsel sent a complaint to the CCPR on the basis that the applicant is at “great risk of being exposed to serious harm and abuse, even death.” One of the main points was that the applicant, due to his past work, belongs to several risk groups under the UNHCR Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Asylum Seekers from Afghanistan of 6 August 2013.  The Committee’s decision found that the applicants rights were violated under article 7 of the Covenant. The decision states that the evidence provided by the applicant showed a real risk of treatment in violation of article 7. The State is under obligation to provide effective remedy, by returning the applicant to Denmark, and provide payment of compensation.

20. July 2021

CCPR 2370/2014
  • Decision: 7. September 2015
  • Comm: Human Rights