Exercise of police violence and ineffective investigation to identify it in the light of the ECHR
JUDGMENT
Smolentsev v. Russia 25-07-2017 (no. 46349/09)
SUMMARY
The case concerned the applicant’s allegations of police violence. Mr Smolentsev suffers from a mental retardation from his childhood and has no legal capacity since 1999. His mother visited him at the police station and found that he had injuries and denounced the attack on her son before the prosecutor . After the three-month delay, a criminal case was opened in relation to the alleged assault. The process was postponed 16 times and seems to still be postponed until today, 10 years after the alleged events.
Based on Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment), Mr Smolentsev in particular denounced his alleged ill-treatment by the police after his arrest and the lack of an effective investigation of his allegations of ill-treatment. The ECtHR found that there had been a violation of the Convention
PROVISION
Article 3
PRINCIPAL FACTS
The applicant, Andrey Smolentsev, is a Russian national who was born in 1976 and lives in Barnaul (Russia). The case concerned an allegation of police brutality.
Mr Smolentsev has been mentally disabled since childhood and lacked legal capacity since 1999. On 28 August 2007, he was arrested on suspicion of robbery and taken to Industrialniy district police station of Barnaul. When Mr Smolentsev’s mother arrived at the police station several hours later, she discovered he had injuries on his face. On the same date ambulance medics and doctors at a local hospital found that he had a broken nose and a chest contusion. She complained to the prosecutor’s office the next day following an allegation by her son that he had been beaten by the police officers who had arrested him. After a delay of more than three months, a criminal case was opened in respect of the alleged assault. The proceedings have been suspended on 16 occasions and appear to be ongoing to the present day, 10 years after the events complained of.
Relying on Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment), Mr Smolentsev complained in particular of ill-treatment by the police after his arrest and of the lack of an effective investigation into his allegations of ill-treatment.
THE DECISION OF THE COURT
Violation of Article 3 (inhuman and degrading treatment)
Violation of Article 3 (investigation)
Just satisfaction: EUR 500 (pecuniary damage), EUR 20,000 (non-pecuniary damage), and EUR 2,000 (costs and expenses)(echrcaselaw.com editing).