ECtHR - Grand Chamber hearing in F.G. v. Sweden (application no. 43611/11), 3 December 2014

Date: 
Monday, December 8, 2014

The Grand Chamber has heard the submissions in F.G. v Sweden which relate to an Iranian national’s asylum claim on grounds of political opinion and religious belief. The applicant submitted that if expelled to Iran he would be at a risk of being punished or sentenced to death, relying on Articles 2 (right to life) and 3 (prohibition of degrading or inhuman treatment) of the ECHR.

In its Chamber judgment the majority found no risk of a violation of Articles 2 or 3.  Specifically, on religious persecution, the majority relied on the fact that the applicant ‘has kept his faith a private matter’, adding that, in any event, ‘there is nothing to indicate that the Iranian authorities are aware of his conversion’ [41]. However, the dissenting judges reiterated the Court of Justice of the EU’s case Bundesrepublik Deutschland v. Y (C-71/11) and Z (C-99/11) and highlighted that the majority erroneously relied on the ‘private’ nature of the applicant’s Christianity to imply that the applicant could avoid persecution by concealing his religious conversion.

The case was referred to the Grand Chamber in June 2014. The AIRE Centre, ECRE and the ICJ intervened in this case. The Grand Chamber’s ruling will be made at a later stage.


5 December 2014                                      

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Keywords: 
Inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Political Opinion
Religion
Tags: 
ECtHR
Germany