Denmark
Two Tunisians face expulsion to Tunisia
despite risk of torture or other ill-treatment
9 April 2008
In February 2008, the Danish authorities arrested two Tunisians and a Dane of Moroccan origin, reportedly on suspicion of involvement in an alleged conspiracy to murder one of the cartoonists who drew the controversial caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad. This alleged conspiracy has been characterized in statements by the Danish authorities and in the Danish media, as a ‘terrorist’ plot.
Within days of the arrests, the Danish national was released; the two Tunisian nationals, who have not been charged with any criminal offence, remain in detention [1] and now face expulsion from Denmark, reportedly on the grounds that the Danish Intelligence Services consider them to be “a threat to national security”. Under Danish law, an individual who faces expulsion on national security grounds has no right to challenge that decision in a court, no right to be told on what grounds they are suspected of posing a threat to national security, and no right to know on what grounds it has been decided that they can safely be removed to the country to which they are to be expelled.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN), Amnesty International Denmark and the Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims (RCT) are seriously concerned that this decision exposes these men to the risk of grave violations of their human rights, including torture or other ill-treatment. The organizations are further concerned that decisions that may have a devastating impact on the lives and safety of these men have been taken in secret, and that Danish law gives the men no opportunity to challenge the assertions both that they pose a threat to Danish national security and that it would be safe to return them to Tunisia.
Various reports issued by Tunisian and international non-governmental organizations[2] have documented the recurrent practice of torture and other ill-treatment in Tunisia. These reports indicate that Tunisian nationals who have been suspected of, or charged with, involvement in terrorism-related offences abroad face a real risk of arbitrary arrest and detention, and torture or other ill-treatment, if returned to Tunisia. Such individuals are at further risk, if charged by the Tunisian authorities with a terrorism-related offence, of being tried in proceedings which fall far short of international fair trial standards. In light of these risks, deporting these two Tunisian nationals would violate the Danish government’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
In a recent case, the European Court of Human Rights concluded that the deportation to Tunisia of a Tunisian living in Italy would have amounted to a violation of Italy’s obligation, under the ECHR, not to remove anyone to a country where they would face a real risk of torture or other ill-treatment (Saadi vs. Italy, 28 February 2008). The Court noted what it described as the “disturbing situation” in Tunisia, as described in reports of international organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, particularly in relation to “numerous and regular cases of torture and ill-treatment” of individuals charged and detained under counter-terrorism legislation in Tunisia.
If there is sufficient admissible evidence that these individuals, or others in Denmark, have been involved in “terrorism-related” activity, then they should be charged with a recognizably criminal offence and brought to trial in proceedings that fully accord with international fair trial standards. The suspicion, on undisclosed grounds, of involvement in such activities must not, however, be used to justify returning individuals to countries where they will face a real risk of grave human rights violations.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) and its Tunisian member organizations, the Committee for the Respect of Liberties and Human Rights in Tunisia (CRLDHT), the Tunisian League of Human Rights (LTDH), the National Council for Liberties in Tunisia (CNLT) and the Tunisian Association of the Democratic Women (ATFD), join Amnesty International Denmark and the Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims (RCT) in their unconditional condemnation of torture and other ill-treatment.
They ask the Danish authorities:
- Not to deport these two individuals to Tunisia, where they face a real risk of grave human rights violations, including a real risk of being subjected to torture or other ill-treatment;
- To comply with their international commitments, including under the European Convention on Human Rights, not to expel anyone to a country where they will face such a risk;
- To ensure that all individuals who face deportation from Denmark on national security grounds are given an effective opportunity to challenge the assertion that they pose a threat to national security, and to challenge any assertion that they will not be exposed to a risk of grave human rights violations in the country to which they are to be returned.
They also call upon the Tunisian authorities to:
- immediately and unconditionally end the practice of torture and other ill-treatment in Tunisia;
- ensure that all allegations of torture or other ill-treatment are investigated promptly, thoroughly and impartially and that officials responsible for torture or other ill-treatment are brought to justice, and that victims receive full reparation, in line with Tunisia’s obligations under the ICCPR and the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN)
Amnesty International Denmark
Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims (RCT)
Committee for the Respect of Liberties and Human Rights in Tunisia (CRLDHT)
Tunisian League of Human Rights (LTDH)
National Council for Liberties in Tunisia (CNLT)
Tunisian Association of the Democratic Women (ATFD)
[1] The Danish Supreme Court has just accepted to examine whether the Tunisians should still be detained.
[2] These include Amnesty International’s recent submission on Tunisia to the UN Human Rights Committee, published ahead of the Committee’s consideration of Tunisia in March 2008; the entry on Tunisia in the Amnesty International Annual Report for 2007;
and Tunisia, a Country of Concern, published by Human Rights Watch in September 2007.
