New communicated case concerning gay asylum - O.S. v Switzerland

The Third Section of the European Court of Human Rights has communicated the case of O.S. v Switzerland. The case concerns a Gambian national, Mr O.S., who is approximately 33-years-old and who has been refused asylum in Switzerland.

The facts


Mr O.S. arrived in Switzerland in 2008 and applied for asylum under a false name and nationality. This request was rejected and Mr O.S.'s expulsion was ordered. Mr O.S. was subsequently convicted of an offence and served two periods in prison. Prior to his first period of imprisonment, Mr O.S. had applied again for asylum under his real name. He based his request on the fact that he is homosexual and is therefore at risk of persecution in Gambia.

Gambia continues to enforce law relating to homosexual acts that was enacted during the British colonial period. The Gambian Criminal Code makes "carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature" (which has been defined to include any homosexual act) an offence punishable by up to 14 years of imprisonment, or up to life imprisonment in certain "aggravated" circumstances. The Criminal Code further makes "gross indecency" between persons of the same sex an offence punishable by up to five years of imprisonment. Gambian criminal law relating to homosexual acts has been amended twice since 2005 to strengthen the prohibition of such acts.

Mr O.S.'s second asylum request was denied.

In 2014, Mr O.S. and his same-sex partner officially registered their relationship and applied for family unification - that is, a residence permit for Mr O.S. to stay with his registered partner in Switzerland.

In 2015, the Swiss migration authorities refused Mr O.S.'s request and ordered his expulsion. They further stated that Mr O.S. had to await the outcome of any appeals outside of Switzerland. Mr O.S. appealed the refusal, and this appeal is pending before the Administrative Court.

Mr O.S. also requested an interim measure, allowing him to stay in Switzerland during the appeal proceedings. This request has been repeatedly denied. In December 2015, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court held that there was a high probability that Mr O.S.'s appeal against his expulsion would not be successful, in particular owing to his criminal conviction and his conduct during the asylum proceedings. The Court further held that:
"there were no concrete obstacles for [Mr O.S.] to return to Gambia, at least temporarily. [He] and his partner had so far only lived together for a very limited period since [he] had been imprisoned for a considerable amount of time during their relationship. Furthermore, there were no indications that the Gambian authorities were aware of [Mr O.S.'s] homosexuality or partnership. Therefore ... there was no real risk for [Mr O.S.] under Article 3 [of the Convention], when returned to Gambia."
Complaint to the Court

Mr O.S. complains under Article 3 of the Convention about his impending expulsion to Gambia. He fears that, "owing to his homosexuality, even a temporary return to Gambia would expose him to a real risk of arbitrary detention, imprisonment and torture".


Question to the Parties


The Court has asked the following question:

"In the light of [Mr O.S.'s] claims and the documents which have been submitted, would he face a risk of being subjected to treatment in breach of Article 3 of the Convention if the expulsion order were enforced?"
Context

As I have previously written here (the last time was in January, concerning the case of M.B. v Spain) this case has to be seen in the light of the fact that the Court has never held that the deportation of a gay person to a country of origin, outside the Council of Europe, that criminalises same-sex sexual activity amounts to a violation of any aspect of the Convention. 


The Convention has been in force for nearly 64 years and the Court has contributed little (if anything) to elucidating, safeguarding and developing the human rights of people who, should they be returned by Council of Europe states to the countries they flee, are at risk of inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment, torture, and death. 


This, as I argued here, amounts to a shameful history.


The Council of Europe's approach to the issue of asylum and sexual orientation discrimination, including the case law of the Court, is summarised in my recent chapter which is available here: 


https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2927098


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