Practices of physical and psychological abuse of the accused by the police constitute degrading treatment
JUDGMENT
Zherdev v. Ukraine 27-04-2017 (no. 34015/07)
SUMMARY
Degrading treatment by the police. The applicant, who was found guilty of robbery and homicide and sentenced to 13 years in prison, has filed with the ECtHR complaints about police pre-trial (physical and psychological abuse by the police authorities in order to extract his confession) and the criminal proceedings against him. The Court ruled that there was a breach of Article 3 regarding degrading treatment in the pre-litigation procedure, but also violation of Article 5 of the ECHR regardinf the detention of Mr Zherdev.
PROVISION
Article 3
Article 5 par. 1 and 3
PRINCIPAL FACTS
The case concerned a request for the revision of a judgment of the European Court of Human Rights with regard to various complaints by Artyom Zherdev concerning the period between 2005 and 2009. His allegations included police ill-treatment to extract a confession and that his pre-trial detention was unlawful and unreasonably long.
In a judgment delivered on 27 April 2017, the Court held that there had been violations of Article 3 (prohibition of degrading treatment), Article 5 § 1 (c) (right to liberty and security), and Article 5 § 3 (entitlement to trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial) and awarded him 8,000 euros (EUR) for non-pecuniary damage and EUR 2,150 for costs and expenses.
On 11 July 2017 Mr Zherdev’s representative informed the Court that Mr Zherdev had died on 15 June 2016 and requested a revision of the judgment under the Court’s Rules. The representative requested that the sums due to Mr Zherdev be paid to his only heirs, his parents.
THE DECISION OF THE COURT
In its judgment today the Court decided to revise its judgment of 27 April 2017 as regards the application of Article 41 (just satisfaction) of the Convention and held that Ukraine was to pay Leonid Zherdev and Iryna Zherdeva, jointly, EUR 8,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage and EUR 2,150 in respect of costs and expenses.