Communication: H.E.A.K. v. Denmark. Message No. 2343/2014. The Opinion was adopted by the Committee on July 23, 2015.
In 2014, the authors of the communication were assisted in preparing a complaint. Subsequently, the complaint was communicated to Denmark.
Subject of the message: deportation to Egypt.
The Committee's assessment of the factual circumstances of the case: The Committee takes note of the assessment carried out by the authorities of the State party, i.e. the Danish Refugee Appeals Board, including the information provided by the author that he is one of the founders of Ultras Ahlavi and was responsible for information technology in this group. However, the Committee notes that the State party has not concluded that it was only because of his status as one of the founders of Ultras Ahlavi and the person responsible for information technology in this group, given that it was initially an apolitical fan club, which subsequently acquired a political orientation, that the author became such a significant figure that he would be in personal danger of being persecuted if he returned to Egypt. In this regard, the State party referred to the author's statement that he was not present at the incident in Port Said or at any of the other clashes between the authorities and demonstrators, and therefore concluded that the author would not be in personal danger if he returned to Egypt. The State party issued its opinion taking into account that the author has not provided evidence that he would be at risk of persecution by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, that he would find himself in a conflict situation within the meaning of the asylum legislation regarding the military, police security forces or other authorities in the event of his return to Egypt or that the Egyptian authorities, in an attempt to track down the author, contacted him or his mother (paragraph 8.3 of the Opinion).
The Committee notes the author's claim about the evidence he provided in support of his statements, in particular a threatening letter sent to his mother's home address, photographs of Egyptians who were tortured and killed for freely determining their political status and developing the social and cultural activities of the Ahlawi Ultras in Egypt without fear of persecution, as well as various articles explaining how the current regime is passing laws allowing the authorities to control the social networks used by Ultras Ahlavi, including by trying to hack the group's Facebook page and close the group's web page. The Committee further notes the author's statements that after he was ordered to return to Egypt, the authorities repeatedly searched his mother's house. The State party has not accepted as credible the allegations that the Egyptian authorities raided the author's house, as he did not provide any evidence and did not explain why the authorities would search for him at his mother's house. In addition, the Committee notes the constant reports of serious concern about the general human rights situation in Egypt, and in particular draws attention to information received on cases of marginalization of opposition representatives in order to suppress dissent; control of data transmitted via electronic communication channels by State authorities; mass arrests of suspects supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood organization; about the use of [and] torture to detainees and prisoners, as well as about the mistreatment of them; about cases of murder of protesters; the widespread use of the death penalty; violations of the right to freedom of expression and violations of the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, which are noted in reports on Egypt by United Nations human rights mechanisms and international non-governmental organizations; as well as the author's statements that persons who held similar or lower positions in the hierarchical structure of Ultras Ahlavi were abducted, tortured or killed, on the basis of which he claims that he may suffer the same fate if he returns to Egypt (paragraph 8.4 of the Considerations).
The Committee also notes the author's new evidence in the form of an Arabic-language video posted on the Internet with a speech by the former Vice-President of the Egyptian Football Association, Ahmed Abdelaziz Shobair, in which he on February 21, 2014 He stated that "Captain Ahmed Shobair repeatedly swears before God that Ultras Ahlavi is a terrorist group," admitting the expediency of banning Ultras Ahlavi, since this club allegedly supports the terrorist actions of the Muslim Brotherhood organization, and that the Egyptian government should put an end to the activities of Ultras Ahlavi. In addition, the Committee notes that the State party has not refuted the designation of Ultras Ahlavi as a terrorist group and that it has not indicated in its responses how such a designation affects the degree of risk to the author associated with his return to Egypt. Given that the author has provided reliable information that he may be perceived as having close ties to the Ultras Ahlawi group, since he is one of the founders of this group, whose activities the Egyptian Government has repeatedly tried to suppress, the Committee considers that the author has sufficiently substantiated his claim that the authorities of the State party had not fulfilled their duty to properly assess the risk that would arise for him if he returned to Egypt, and therefore, Decides to consider the initial risk assessment by the State party to be unfounded. In this regard, the Committee considers that, taking into account the specific circumstances of the present case, the facts presented and, in particular, the information about the author's participation in the work of the Ultras Ahlavi group indicate the existence of an individual risk for the author to be subjected to torture or ill-treatment in the event of his expulsion to Egypt in violation of his rights under article 7 of the Covenant (para. 8.5 Considerations).
The Committee's conclusions: The author's removal to Egypt would result in a violation of his rights under article 7 of the Covenant (paragraph 9 of the Opinion).