CEDH · CASELAW;DECISIONS;DECCOMMISSION;ENG — 7 décembre 1994

.sDD6737AE { font-size:11pt } .s211D6B00 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; line-height:normal; widows:0; orphans:0; font-size:8.5pt } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial }                          Application No. 22417/93                       by Saidajan TURABAZ                       against Greece        The European Commission of Human Rights (Second Chamber) sitting in private on 7 December 1994, the following members being present:              MM.    S. TRECHSEL, President                  H. DANELIUS                  G. JÖRUNDSSON                  J.-C. SOYER                  H.G. SCHERMERS            Mrs.   G.H. THUNE            MM.    F. MARTINEZ                  L. LOUCAIDES                  J.-C. GEUS                  M.A. NOWICKI                  I. CABRAL BARRETO                  J. MUCHA                  D. SVÁBY              Mr.    K. ROGGE, Secretary to the Chamber        Having regard to Article 25 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;        Having regard to the application introduced on 4 March 1993 by Saidajan TURABAZ against Greece and registered on 4 August 1993 under file No. 22417/93;        Having regard to the report provided for in Rule 47 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission;        Having regard to :   -     the report provided for in Rule 47 of the Rules of Procedure of      the Commission;   -     the observations submitted by the respondent Government on 3 June      1994;        Having deliberated;        Decides as follows:   THE FACTS        The applicant is an Afghan citizen born in 1960 and presently residing in Canada.        The facts as they have been submitted by the parties can be summarised as follows:        The applicant entered Greece illegally on 25 February 1991 coming from Turkey. He lodged an application for asylum with the Police Director of Orestiada.        The Government submit, on the one hand, that the applicant invoked in support of his application his general opposition to the regime in Afghanistan and declared that he did not belong to any political party or organisation and that he was never prosecuted for or convicted of anti-state activities.        The applicant claimed, on the other hand, before the Commission, that he had been a member of the Afghan Revolutionists Patriotic Organization. In 1980, when the Soviet army took over he was imprisoned as a result of his political activities. In 1981 he escaped from Afghanistan and found refuge in Pakistan. After a short stay in that country he returned to Afghanistan and lived in a village which at that time was not under the control of the Soviet army. In 1984 the Soviet troops attacked the village and he was arrested and sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment. Some of his comrades were executed. Two years later he was released on parole and escaped to Pakistan. While in Pakistan he was persecuted by fundamentalist groups. On 25 June 1990 the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Peshawar certified that the applicant was a refugee with security problems in Pakistan.        On 18 June 1991 the applicant was recognised as a mandate refugee by the Athens office of the UNHCR.        On 10 September 1991 the Secretary General of the Ministry of Public Order refused to recognise the applicant as a refugee under Article 1A of the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951. The applicant was ordered to leave Greece within two months.        In October 1993, after having lodged the present application with the Commission, the applicant left Greece for Canada, where he applied for refugee status.   COMPLAINTS        The applicant complained that, since he had no residence permit in Greece, he could at any time be arrested and returned to his country of origin. He complained under Article 3 of the Convention that his deportation to Afghanistan would amount to inhuman treatment, since it would expose him to the risks of the civil war in Afghanistan and to severe persecutions because of his political activities as a member of the Afghan Revolutionists Patriotic Organization.   PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COMMISSION        The application was introduced on 4 March 1993 and registered on 4 August 1993.        On 2 March 1994 the Commission decided to communicate the application to the respondent Government and to request them to submit written observations on admissibility and merits.         The Government submitted their observations on 3 June 1994 after one extension in the time-limit fixed for this purpose.        In the absence of information as to the applicant's present address in Canada, a letter transmitting the Government's observations and inviting the applicant to submit observations in reply before 3 August 1994 was sent to his former address in Greece.   This letter and a reminder of 12 October 1994 sent to the same address have remained unanswered.   REASONS FOR THE DECISION        The Commission notes that the applicant has failed to indicate his new address and that letters from the Secretariat to his former address have remained unanswered.        The Commission concludes under Article 30 para. 1 (a) of the Convention that the applicant no longer intends to pursue his petition. It further considers that respect for Human Rights as defined in the Convention does not require it to continue the examination of the application.        For these reasons, the Commission, unanimously,        DECIDES TO STRIKE THE APPLICATION OUT OF THE LIST OF CASES.   Secretary to the Second Chamber         President of the Second Chamber           (K. ROGGE)                               (S. TRECHSEL)