34 AUAD v. BULGARIA JUDGMENT in the event of a public emergency threatening the life of the nation. As the prohibition of torture and of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is absolute, irrespective of the victim’s conduct, the nature of any offences allegedly committed by the applicant is therefore irrelevant. 97. In paragraphs 137-39 of the same judgment the Court went on to reaffirm a principle that it had first articulated in its judgment in the case of Chahal (cited above, § 81): that it is not possible to weigh the risk of ill-treatment against the reasons put forward for the expulsion in order to determine whether the responsibility of a State is engaged under Article 3. 98. It should be added that the existence of the obligation not to expel is not dependent on whether the source of the risk of the treatment stems from factors which involve the responsibility, direct or indirect, of the authorities of the receiving country. Having regard to the absolute character of the right guaranteed, Article 3 may extend to situations where the danger emanates from persons or groups of persons who are not public officials. What is relevant in this context is whether the applicant is able to obtain protection against and seek redress for the acts perpetrated against him or her (see H.L.R. v. France, 29 April 1997, § 40, Reports 1997-III; T.I. v. the United Kingdom (dec.), no. 43844/98, ECHR 2000-III; Headley v. the United Kingdom (dec.), no. 39642/03, 1 March 2005; N. v. Finland, no. 38885/02, § 163, 26 July 2005; Salah Sheekh v. the Netherlands, no. 1948/04, §§ 137 and 147, 11 January 2007; N.A. v. the United Kingdom, no. 25904/07, § 110, 17 July 2008; F.H. v. Sweden, no. 32621/06, § 102, 20 January 2009; and N. v. Sweden, no. 23505/09, §§ 55-62, 20 July 2010). 99. In Saadi (cited above, §§ 128-33) the Court also summarised, with further references, the principles governing the manner of assessing the risk of exposure to treatment contrary to Article 3: (a) In determining whether substantial grounds have been shown for believing that there is a real risk of treatment incompatible with Article 3, the Court takes into account all the material placed before it or, if necessary, material obtained proprio motu. Its examination of the existence of a real risk must necessarily be a rigorous one. (b) It is in principle for the applicant to adduce evidence capable of proving that there are substantial grounds for believing that, if the measure complained of were to be implemented, he would be exposed to a real risk of being subjected to treatment contrary to Article 3. Where such evidence is adduced, it is for the Government to dispel any doubts about it. (c) To determine whether there is a risk of ill-treatment, the Court must examine the foreseeable consequences of sending the applicant to the receiving country, bearing in mind the general situation there and his or her personal circumstances. (d) To that end, as regards the general situation in a particular country, the Court has often attached importance to the information contained in recent reports from independent international human-rights organisations