CASE OF X v. SWEDEN
Violation of Article 3 - Prohibition of torture (Article 3 - Expulsion) (Conditional) (Morocco)
Alena Poláčková;Branko Lubarda;Georgios A. Serghides;Helen Keller;Helena Jäderblom;Luis López Guerra;Pere Pastor Vilanova
6. The applicant is currently in Sweden. 7. In 2005 he was granted a temporary residence permit in Sweden which was made permanent in 2007. Both permits were based on the applicant’s family ties, but he was not granted Swedish citizenship. In 2009 he married a non-Swedish national who held a permanent residence permit in Sweden. 8. In March 2016 the Swedish Security Service (Säkerhetspolisen) applied to the Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) requesting the applicant’s expulsion. During the Migration Agency’s examination of the request, the applicant applied for asylum, claiming that he was in need of international protection. He further contested the Security Service’s request alleging that, since the Security Service had branded him a terrorist, he would risk torture and at least ten years’ imprisonment in Morocco. He submitted that he would be forced to confess to an act of terrorism that he had not committed. The applicant stated that his parents lived in Morocco and he had visited them a few years earlier. During the visit, police officers had approached him and informed him that they were monitoring him and advised him to “listen to our friends in Sweden or stay away from Morocco forever”. He acknowledged that he had left Morocco legally with his own passport, that he had not been wanted in Morocco, that there were no legal proceedings pending against him and that he had never published anything on, for example, religion or politics. Moreover, to his knowledge, his parents had never been approached by the authorities because of him and the Moroccan authorities had never contacted him in Sweden. However, he claimed that the Swedish Security Service would inform the Moroccan authorities of the reasons for his arrest and expulsion and other Moroccans in Sweden might also submit such information. He was not aware if his situation had been noted in Morocco. The applicant referred to country information about Morocco according to which physical ill-treatment and arbitrary detention occurred, in particular of suspected terrorists. Such persons had been tortured into confession and sentenced to lengthy terms of imprisonment. He also referred to the Court’s case law. 9. On 22 April 2016 the Migration Agency granted the Security Services’ request to expel the applicant and, at the same time, rejected the applicant’s demand for asylum and international protection. It noted that the human rights situation in Morocco had improved significantly. Violence at police stations and prisons had decreased. Imprisonment was common in terror-related cases and persons affiliated with Islamic movements ran a higher risk of being subjected to violence. Older reports contained accounts of torture and illtreatment in cases concerning national security and terrorism. However, the Moroccan authorities had publicly stated that the fight against terrorism should not be used as a pretext for depriving people of their rights. Torture was illegal and efforts to curb the use of torture had been successful. In terror-related cases, arrested suspects were examined by doctors before and after interrogation to prevent the use of violence by the interrogators. 10. As concerned the applicant’s situation, the Migration Agency found no reasons to question the Security Service’s assessment of the applicant. In this regard, it found that the applicant lacked credibility since his submissions relating to his background and previous activities were contradicted by the information submitted by the Security Service. Moreover, the Agency considered that he had not made out that the Moroccan authorities had previously showed an interest in him. It took into account that he had lived outside Morocco for about a decade and that, as he said himself, he had lived an inconspicuous life in Sweden without political or religious activities. Furthermore, after his last visit to Morocco, he had left the country legally using his passport. His parents in Morocco had not reported any visits from the authorities enquiring about him and the Moroccan authorities had never contacted him in Sweden. They had never requested his extradition either, or informed him that he was suspected of terrorism or any other kind of criminality. He had never been convicted of any terrorrelated crimes in Sweden. The Agency observed that the applicant had submitted that he was not sought in Morocco, that he had not been involved in any legal proceedings there and that the Moroccan authorities had never subjected him to any acts of persecution in the past. As late as towards the end of 2015, the applicant had travelled internationally using his passport, without being stopped. Even though older “country of origin” reports included accounts of ill-treatment, the most recent reports instead spoke of measures taken by the Moroccan authorities aimed at reinforcing the rule of law. 11. As concerned the risk upon return because it was the Security Service which had requested the expulsion, the Migration Agency found that the applicant had not made out that he risked persecution upon return on this ground. It took into account that no objective evidence suggested that the Moroccan authorities were aware of his case and that the legislation had regard to the possible risks of being labelled a terrorist and had been designed to avoid such risks. 12. The Migration Agency concluded that, even taking into account the applicant’s submissions, it shared the Security Service’s assessment and considered that there were grounds to expel the applicant with reference to Section 1, paragraph 2, of the Special Controls of Aliens Act (lagen [1991:572] om särskild utlänningskontroll). It thus rejected his request for asylum and international protection, revoked his permanent residence permit and ordered his expulsion to either Morocco or another specified country. It also decided on a lifelong ban on returning to Sweden. 13. The applicant appealed to the Government, submitting that the Security Service’s assessment had been accepted by the Migration Agency without a careful examination, rendering the proceedings unfair and partial. He maintained his claims and stressed that the use of torture was frequent in Morocco, in particular in relation to suspected terrorists. 14. The Migration Agency forwarded the appeal to the Migration Court of Appeal (Migrationsöverdomstolen) in accordance with Section 3 of the Special Controls of Aliens Act. The Agency maintained its stance and stated, inter alia, that the applicant had not made it probable that he was of interest to the Moroccan authorities and there was no concrete information indicating that they should be aware of what had happened to him in Sweden. The Security Service stated that it was as transparent as possible but, for reasons of confidentiality, could not reveal its working methods and sources. It added that it was continually assessing whether it was possible to enforce the expulsion. If information were to emerge which raised the issue of impediments to the expulsion, the Government would be informed. 15. On 22 June 2016, after having held an oral hearing, the appellate court shared the reasoning of the Migration Agency and decided to recommend that the Government uphold the Agency’s decision. It found, inter alia, that there was nothing to support that the applicant at that point in time was known by the Moroccan authorities and of interest to them. 16. On 8 September 2016 the Government upheld the Migration Agency’s decision in full. The Government noted the Security Service’s submissions concerning the applicant’s background and connections and found that there were no grounds for questioning these submissions. In view of what was known about the applicant’s former activities and other circumstances, the Government concluded that it was reasonable to fear that the applicant would commit or participate in committing a terrorist offence which warranted his expulsion in accordance with the Special Controls of Aliens Act. 17. On 22 September 2016, following the interim measure indicated by the Court, the Government decided to stay the enforcement of the expulsion order until further notice.