Post
by me12345 » Mon Sep 17, 2012 1:16 pm
I am an American as well as a torture victim--I was given asylum in Hong Kong for several months before I voluntarily withdrew from the asylum process to travel to Switzerland to file a UN Convention Against Torture Claim with the UN Committee Against Torture. I arrived at Immigration in Zurich and was given a stamp in my passport allowing me the regular 90 days in the Schengen Area that is granted to all American citizens, but then I stated that I was in Switzerland primarily to take a train to Geneva to file my torture claim there, so Swiss police said that they would treat me as an asylum-seeker and detained me at the airport. Soon thereafter, they told me that they would detain me for the maximum 60 days and then they would have the American police deport me to the United States and thus I would not be able to file my torture claim in Geneva, so I stated that I would like to be admitted to Switzerland on a tourist visa rather than as an asylum-seeker. They stated that such is not possible because I already said that I was interested in filing a CAT claim, and that filing a CAT claim is not a sufficient reason to enter the country (although it is my understanding that all citizens of signatory countries have a right to file a CAT claim with the UN in Geneva). Swiss police deported me back to Hong Kong, and now the Hong Kong authorities said that they are unable to let me back into the city so I have to stay in the airport; airport authorities also told me that they are unable to give me a flight to any country other than the United States, and I am unwilling to travel there. I would like to file a case to allow my entry back into Switzerland based on the following: I asked to speak to a lawyer and that was not allowed, I wasn't given an opportunity to have my removal appealed or reviewed, I wasn't given any information on available remedies, the information on the standard form was not accurate, the standard form was in German and I only speak English, I did not sign the standard form, I was not given a proper translation or interpretation of the standard form, and as an American citizen with no criminal record and no risk of facing trial in any country in the world, I should have a right to enter Switzerland and make my CAT claim. I don't necessarily need asylum in Switzerland, I just need to go there for a period of time to present my CAT claim, or I need entry into another signatory country but the airport authorities have told me that I can only go to the US. I understand that an American making a CAT claim to the UN is a very sensitive issue, but I have a right to present my case, I have plenty of documentation, and I need assistance in protecting my rights. Please give me any information that can be of assistance.
