Forced confession and effective investigation of torture consist of a heavy blow for the ECtHR
JUDGMENT
Shestopalov v. Russia 28-03-2017 (no. 46248/07)
SUMMARY
Inhuman and degrading treatment. Police violence towards a minor consisting of binding, kicks and beatings with a cane. Insufficient research. Complaint of insufficient amount of non-pecuniary damage by the courts for police violence against the applicant.
PROVISION
Article 3
PRINCIPAL FACTS
The applicant, Anton Shestopalov, is a Russian national who was born in 1986 and lives in Nizhniy Novgorod (Russia). He complained that in 2004, when he was still a minor, police officers had subjected him to various acts of violence in a police station. These included tying him up, punching him, kicking him and throttling him with a baton. He alleges that fears of further violence led him to sign a self-incriminating statement at the request of the officers, relating to their investigation into the rape of a girl he knew. However, the rape victim gave a statement saying that Mr Shestopalov was not the perpetrator, and no criminal proceedings were ever brought against him. The authorities eventually started criminal proceedings relating to the ill-treatment of Mr Shestopalov in the police station (after refusing to initiate them on six occasions). However, these were suspended on the grounds that the police officers responsible for the violence could not be identified. Mr Shestopalov brought a civil claim against the state for damages. His claim was successful, and he was awarded 50,000 Russian roubles (around 1,450 euros) as compensation.
Mr Shestopalov complained that he had been subjected to torture by police officers; that the authorities had failed to carry out an effective investigation; that the amount of compensation he had been granted had been disproportionate to the suffering he had endured; and that the domestic remedies available to him had not been effective.
THE DECISION OF THE COURT
He relied on Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment), alone and in conjunction with Article 13 (right to an effective remedy).
Violation of Article 3 (torture)
Violation of Article 3 (investigation)
No violation of Article 13 in conjunction with Article 3 – regarding the civil proceedings
Just satisfaction: EUR 48,550 (non-pecuniary damage) and EUR 3,000 (costs and expenses)
