Concerning E.E vs Denmark for violation of CCPR.

The author E.E. was taken by her cousin against her and her mother’s will to Serbia to marry a Serbian national. Later the author discovered that her husband’s family had paid 7000 euro for her. During her staying in Serbia she was physically abused by her husband, his father and grandfather, and was subjected to forced labor. One time she briefly needed to return to Albania, and was in this period escorted by M and M’s cousin. They threatened her with a gun if she did not follow back to Serbia.

She was allowed to visit her brother in Albania one time in 2014. Once arrived, she refused to return to Serbia, and furthermore filed for divorce. The author’s husband rejected her request and requested her to reimburse 7000 euro. The divorce case in the court in Tirana was canceled due to lack of evidence. Author also heard that her uncle would come to Albania and kill her for humiliating the family by marrying a Serb and later filing for divorce. The author’s fears were based on an incident, which had occurred two years beforehand when her uncle attacked her with a knife, almost cutting her throat, because there were rumors that she had been seen with an unknown man in the city, and then suspected that she was a prostitute. 

In 2015, the author arrived to Denmark and applied for asylum on the same day. 

The Immigration Service decided that the Aliens Act’s provisions on human trafficking did not cover the author’s case. The Danish Refugee Board found that the author had not provided evidence that she would face persecution upon her return to Albania, or that she would be in a real danger of abuse. The Board considered that the information on the author’s personal circumstances, including her health condition, were not enough grounds to her being granted a residence permit. Therefore, the Refugee Appeals Board upheld the decision of the Immigration Service. 

The author presented a communication to the CCPR v. Denmark in a violation of articles 6,7, 14 of the Convent.  

On its meeting on 23, May, 2023, the CCPR decided that the author’s removal to Albania would be a violation by the State party of her rights under articles 6 and 7 of the Covenant.