Concerning A.A.I., A.H.A. and their children (represented by the Danish Refugee Council) vs Denmark for violation of article 7 of CCPR.

The first author, A.A.I., fled Somalia  after having been forcefully recruited by the Al-Shabaab militia. A.A.I was granted residence permit in Turin, Italy. The second author, A.H.A., fled Somalia after she had been assaulted by three armed uniformed Somali officials who searched her home and tried to rape her.  A.H.A was also granted residence permit in Turin, Italy. This is where the two authors met and got married.

After receiving a residence permit, the authors were requested to leave the reception centre, without being offered any assistance. This is also when A.H.A became pregnant. Facing homelessness and destitution, being dependent on receiving food from churches, and fearing being unable to provide for their future child,  the authors fled to Denmark and applied for asylum.

The Danish authorities rejected the application for asylum as they  found that the authors were in need of subsidiary protection, and ought to be returned to Italy as Italy was their first country of asylum. Thus a complaint was sent to CCPR.

The Committee concluded that the authors’ previous experiences in Italy do not substantiate their claim that if returned to Italy they will be at a real risk of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Thus, the Committee considers that the author’s’ claims have not been sufficiently substantiated for the purposes of admissibility.