Decision of the Committee Against Torture in the Matter of Pauline Muzonzo Paku Kisoki against Sweden

Pauline Muzonzo Paku Kisoki (plaintiff) submitted a communication No. 41/1996 seeking to avoid deportation by Sweden (defendant). In the communication, Muzonzo asserted that in October 1990, members of the main political party in power in Zaire visited her, asking to hold a rally at her restaurant. Muzonzo asserted that she refused because she was a member of the opposition Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDSP) political party since 1987. Muzonzo asserted that two days after this incident, she and her husband were arrested by Zairean security forces and that she was raped in front of her children. Muzonzo asserted that she was then taken to a detention center, beaten, and raped at least 10 more times. Muzonzo asserted that she was detained for one year without trial and that she escaped prison by bribing a prison supervisor. Muzonzo then fled to Sweden and immediately requested political asylum. In January 1994, the Sweden Board of Immigration refused Muzonzo’s asylum application, finding that the political situation in Zaire had improved and she would not be subjected to persecution. In February 1995, the Swedish Aliens Appeal Board confirmed the decision of the Sweden Board of Immigration. Muzonzo then applied to the United Nations Committee Against Torture under provisions in the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Convention Against Torture), claiming that Sweden based its decisions on an inaccurate image of Zaire. Muzonzo asked the Committee Against Torture to request that Sweden not return her to Zaire. Sweden reasserted that the political situation in Zaire had improved such that Muzonzo would not face persecution.