Euroopa Inimõiguste Kohus
20.01.2009
Facts
The applicant F.H. was an Iraqi national who applied for asylum in Sweden with his family. According to the applicant, he was a Christian and had deserted from the army in Iraq, for which he would be executed. The Swedish authorities rejected the asylum application, accepting the applicants military background, but not believing his reasons for leaving Iraq, since he had only admitted leaving Iraq legally with his own passport and an exit permit once confronted with facts. Before the asylum application had been determined, the applicant was convicted of killing his wife and sentenced to forensic psychiatric care. The court also ordered that the applicant be expelled from Sweden with a prohibition on returning.
Complaint
The applicant alleged that, if deported from Sweden to Iraq, he would face a real risk of being killed or subjected to inhuman treatment and torture in violation of Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention.
Courts ruling
The Court first acknowledged that it is frequently necessary to give asylum-seekers the benefit of the doubt when it comes to assessing their credibility. However, the Court did not find that the applicant would risk being killed because he belongs to the Christian faith. The Court also found nothing to indicate that the applicant would risk being charged with any type of crime before the Iraqi courts for deserting from the army. Regarding the complaints that the applicant would risk being killed by Shia militia groups, the Court considered that the very late addition to his submissions on having written reports about Shia insurgency leaders, is not very credible as he did not mention this before the Swedish authorities or courts at any point. The Court found that the deportation of the applicant would not give rise to a violation of Articles 2 or 3 of the Convention.