Advance unedited version CAT/C/78/D/1052/2021
application for international protection. The State party notes that on 11 April 2019, the
Supreme Administrative Court denied the complainant’s leave to appeal.
6.3
The State party explains that in her new application for international protection on 3
June 2019, the complainant invoked the same grounds as before, and presented health reasons
as new grounds, including two medical statements to supplement her earlier account and to
document the traumatic impacts of the acts of violence against her. The State party notes that
the complainant explained that she could not present the documents in support of the
application earlier, because she only received them gradually during a long period of time.
The State party notes that on 19 June 2019, the Immigration Service declared the
complainant’s application inadmissible, and considered that the grounds presented by the
author had already been examined in connection with her first asylum procedure. The Service
held that there were no new circumstances or grounds influencing the decision substantially
increasing the probability that she should be considered in need of international protection
and notedthat the author’s additional claim about her health situation did not present any
circumstance that would warrant changing the denial by the Administrative Court of the
request for a residence permit and considered that the complainant could be returned to the
DRC.
6.4
Regarding the complainant’s appeal to the Helsinki Administrative Court, the State
party notes that she contended that the complainant argued that the Service could not invoke
the earlier decision of the Administrative Court to justify neglecting its obligation to acquire
evidence, as the decision only commented on the documents provided to the Court at the time
of the earlier decision. According to the State party, the complainant alleged that the Service
had failed to identify her vulnerable position, which had affected the whole investigation of
the matter, as the Service had failed to consider the impact of her traumatic background on
her ability to present evidence in the matter. The State party notes that according to the
decision of the Helsinki Administrative Court of 20 April 2020, the author had suggested that
the Immigration Service should have arranged a medical examination for her ex oficio and
that the Service had failed to comply with its obligation to acquire evidence to assess her
health states. The Court noted however, that the Immigration Service had concluded that a
medical examination was not necessary and noted that this decision was based on a previous
decision of the Eastern Finland Administrative Court, which had concluded that the author’s
health status could have affected her account, but that the account had also showed
implausible features. The Helsinki Administrative Court held that the documentary evidence
presented later to the Immigration Service, including the statements on injuries resulting from
torture, did not warrant a different conclusion. The Court concluded that the author’s
application had to be considered as a subsequent application, which did not contain any new
grounds that would influence the ruling on the matter.
6.5
The State party elaborates on the complainant’s arguments related to the medical
certificates and her health situation, and recalls that before the first asylum decision, the
author was not requested to present a medical certificate, and she was not specifically
informed about her opportunity to provide additional evidence herself. It notes that the
author’s health issues were discussed during the interviews on 15 April 2016, 21 April 2016,
4 May 2017 and 23 May 2017. The State party clarifies that the officials who examined the
complainant’s first asylum application held that there was no need to request a medical
statement because they considered the complainant’s account implausible. It emphasized that
medical statements are not requested categorically from all asylum seekers who have
experienced torture, though it can be relevant in assessing the plausibility of the asylum
seeker’s account. The current instructions advise that if the Immigration Service does not
request a medical examination of an asylum seeker, the person must be informed that he or
she can have a medical examination conducted at his or her own expense. The State party
recognizes that because the author’s account was considered implausible as a whole, a
medical statement would have had real relevance in the matter, and it would probably have
influenced the general conclusion on the author’s account and plausibility in the decision.
The State party states that, taking into account the author’s grounds for seeking asylum and
her account about the health problems and serious violations of her rights, a medical
statement should have been requested in the first asylum process before making the decision.
9