Deportation to Afghanistan of a person whose conversion to Christianity was not sufficiently substantiated

Facts

The author of the communication is M.L.A., a national of Afghanistan. He applied for asylum in Sweden. His application was rejected and the decision upheld by the Migration Court. After the rejection, the author applied for asylum in Germany, but he was transferred back to Sweden under the Dublin III Regulation. In 2018, he made an application for stopping the enforcement of his deportation order, claiming that he had converted to Christianity and that in Afghanistan he would have faced a real and foreseeable risk of torture, persecution or death because of its faith. The author’s application was rejected on the ground that it was unlikely that his conversion was a genuine act of faith, and he was deported to Afghanistan. The author alleges that, by deporting him, Sweden violated articles 6 (right to life) and 7 (prohibition of torture).

Admissibility

The Committee recalls that it is for the State party to examine the facts of the case, unless it can be established that the assessment was clearly arbitrary or amounted to a manifest error or denial of justice. It notes that, despite multiple opportunities, the author did not raise the issue of his conversion until the decision to remove him to Afghanistan had become final. The Committee concludes that the author has failed to demonstrate that the decisions taken by the domestic authorities were arbitrary or amounted to a denial of justice and, therefore, to sufficiently substantiate its claims. Thus, the communication is inadmissible.

By: Giacomo Bruno