Lexploria

Communicated on 14 May 2018

THIRD SECTION

Application no. 25437/11 Mumin Marufovich SULTANOV against Russia and 6 other applications (see list appended)

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicants complained under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention that they had been subjected to ill-treatment by State officials and that the State failed to conduct an effective domestic investigation into those incidents. All of the applicants submitted that their attempts to initiate criminal investigation in connection with the incidents proved futile.

The relevant details regarding the applicants ’ allegations and their version of factual circumstances are reflected in the attached appendices. The information regarding the alleged breach of the substantive aspect of Article 3 in contained in A ppendix no. 1. The reaction of the domestic authorities to the applicants ’ complaints is reflected in Appendix no. 2.

The table of cases:

No.

Application number

Introduction date

Name of the applicant(s) ; date of birth

place of residence

Represented by

1.

25437/11

02/03/2011

Mumin Marufovich SULTANOV 17/04/1977 Samarkand

2.

33032/11

01/03/2011

Dmitriy Vladimirovich KLIMNENKO 13/01/1975 Shara-Gorokhon

3.

48529/12

31/07/2012

Yevgeniy Viktorovich RYLOV Kirovo-Chepetsk

4.

4842/13

10/12/2012

Viktor Yuryevich RASPUTIN 16/06/1957 Chimanovsk

5.

23379/13

10/03/2013

Rauf Rafailovich SITDIKOV 16/12/1974 Kazan

6.

48228/14

27/06/2014

Aleksey Borisovich SINEGUBOV 12/07/1984 Orenburg

COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE

7.

49389/15

01/09/2015

Andrey Grigoryevich GOLOVACHEV 22/06/1967 Kharp

QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES

1. Having regard to the injuries found on the applicants after the time spent by them in State custody, have the applicants been subjected to torture, or inhuman or degrading treatment, in breach of Article 3 of the Convention (see, among other authorities, Razzakov v. Russia , no. 57519/09, 5 February 2015; Gorshchuk v. Russia , no. 31316/09, 6 October 2015; Turbylev v. Russia , no. 4722/09, 6 October 2015; Fartushin v. Russia , no. 38887/09, 8 October 2015; Aleksandr Andreyev v. Russia , no. 2281/06, 23 February 2016; and Leonid Petrov v. Russia , no. 52783/08, 11 October 2016)?

2. Have the authorities discharged their burden of proof by providing a plausible or satisfactory and convincing explanation of how the applicants ’ injuries were caused (see Selmouni , cited above, § 87, and Salman v. Turkey [GC], no. 21986/93, § 100, ECHR 2000 ‑ VII and Bouyid v. Belgium [GC], no. 23380/09, § 83 and further, ECHR 2015)?

3. Did the authorities carry out an effective investigation, in compliance with the procedural obligation under Article 3 and Article 13 of the Convention (see Lyapin v. Russia , no. 46956/09, §§ 125-40, 24 July 2014), having regard to:

(a) the investigating authorities ’ refusals to open criminal cases and investigate the applicants ’ allegations of ill-treatment by the State officials, and the overruling of those refusals as unlawful and unsubstantiated by higher investigative authorities or courts, and

(b) the investigating authorities ’ inability to implement full investigative measures within the framework of the pre-investigation inquiries, before and/or after amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure introduced by Federal Law no. 23-FZ of 4 March 2013 , for example, confrontations, identification parades, searches, and so forth?

No.

Application No. and Title

APPENDIX No. 1

Article 3 - Substantive aspect

ARREST

ALLEGED ILL – TREATMENT

EVIDENCE

Date / time

Region / town /street

Entity

Facts

Date / time

Location

Alleged Facts

Perpetrator(s)

Date

Doc Type

Authority

Description of Injuries

1.

25437/11 Sultanov v. Russia

0 3/09/2009

St. Petersburg

Police office no. 47 in St. Petersburg

Arrested at work (around 18.00) on a charge of aggravated robbery

3/09/2009 to 4/09/2009

Police office No. 47, St. Petersburg

Scars on the applicant ’ s neck and hands. Abrasions on the right shin, back. Hematoma of the left eye.

Police officers

04/09/2009 at 5:50

M edical certificate

Doctor of the City Hospital

No. 109 emergency station

Scars on the applicant ’ s neck and hands. Abrasions on the right shin and back. Hematoma of the left eye.

23/07/2012

Entry in the medical history record of 07/09/2009

R emand prison medical officer

Hematoma of the left eye.

2.

33032/11

Klimnenko v. Russia

23/04/2009 at 16:10

the applicant ’ s flat, 25/2 Kommunis-ticheskiy avenue-6,

Rostov-on-Don

FSKN (federal drugs control service) Rostov

broken rib on the right, concussion, missing tooth, bruises on the head and face

23/04/2009 at 18:55

Police officers

30/04/2009

Medical expert report no. 328; witnesses ’ testimonies; Prison Act no. 73

Dispensary of the Zelenograd Inter-district Office of forensic examinations of the Rostov Region; Department IZ-61/3 Novocherkassk

Hematoma of the right eye. It could be appear on 24/04/2009; bruising to the chest and hematoma of the right eye.

3.

48529/12

Rylov v. Russia

11/12/2008 during search in the office

Office " Khim -trade", Kirovo-Chepetsk

The police came to the office; hit the applicant several times to various part of the body, handcuffed him and placed on the floor; then he was brought to the police department from which he was released four hours later following decision on an administrative offence. Administrative proceedings were discontinued by a court on 15/01/2009 for the lack of evidence.

The police officers D. and V. and unknown police officers

n/a

Forensic examination

n/a

Multiple bruises on the face and forearm, bruises on the wrists. Light bodily harm injuries.

Apparently on 11/01/2009

Medical certificate

Kirovo-Chepetskaya District hospital

Traumatic trachelomyitis

4.

4842/13

Rasputin v. Russia

26/05/2009

Department of Shimanovskiy District police

placed in a detention facility where he stayed ever since

20/08/2009 to 21/08/2009

IVS Blagovesh-chensk

No particular details, allegedly was beaten up in the cell

Unclear; cellmates M. and P. or police officers B., P., U

21/08/2009

27/10/2009

02/11/2009

Ambulance medical certificate

Medical examination report

Forensic report

Blagoveshchensk ambulance service

Forensic expert

Brain concussion, hematoma on the head, bruises on the face and lower lip, bruise around the right eye

Three weeks of in-patient treatment in the medical unit.

5.

23379/13

Sitdikov v. Russia

13/01/2012 at 15:00

Republic of Tatarstan

Police officers

Arrested for the suspicion of having committed a criminal offence

02/03/2012 during the det ention

office no. 315 of the Countering extremism centre of the Ministry of the Interior of the RT ( ЦПЭ МВД по РТ ), K. Fuks street 2 a, Kazan

Beating the head against metal safe, putting legs on the face, maintain on the concrete floor in handcuffs for 2.5 hours

Investigative team of Investigation Brigade № 6 of the Ministry of the Interior of the Tatarstan , Fuks street-2 ( ОРЧ -6 МВД по РТ )

02/03/2012

13/03/2012

Certificate of examination of physical injury;

Forensic examination report

Duty nurse of IZ-1 of the Republic of Tatarstan ;

The Republican Bureau of Forensic Expertise of the Ministry of Health of the RT

Deep abrasion of 2-3 mm on the left forehead, bright bruises on the foreheads and on the brow, abrasion of the left shoulder, linear marks on both wrists.

Multiple contusions, bruising on the head, bruises in the thoracic and lumbar spine, abrasion of the left shoulder.

6.

48228/14 Sinegubov v. Russia

Night of 23 /02/2011 to 2 4 /02/2011

Orenburg, Orenburg Region

P olice office no. 2, Orenburg

Arrested in a street near a shop, allegedly in an intoxicated state

24 /02/ 2011

P olice office No. 2, Orenburg

Punches on head, torso, hands . Suffocation by plastic bag.

P olice officers

25/02/2011

R eport on bodily injuries

Medical officer of the remand prison

No. 56/1, Orenburg

Abrasions on right shoulder, armpits, left side of the waist, left side of the forehead, right side of the chest.

7.

49389/15 Golovachev v. Russia

08/12/ 2011, n/a

IK-5, Vologodskiy Region, washing premises

Multiple punishes and kicks: right temple, right part of the chest. Wrenched right wrist

Inmates and possibly prison officers

n/a

D ischarge epicrisis

P rison hospital

Lower jaw fracture, concussion, fracture of fifth bone from the left,

08/12/2011 to 12/12/2011

IK-5, Vologodskiy Region, medical ward

Wrenching shoulder joints, pressure on injured parts

Prison official

0 8/12/2012

I nternal note ( докладная записка )

P rison nurse

Hypostases of jaw and left wrist,

12/12/2012

R eport ( рапорт )

P rison doctor on duty

Concussion, lower jaw fracture, multiple bruises on the face, 3rd-5th left wrist bones fracture; an injury of the soft tissues of the temporal region; an injury of the right wrist; bruises on the right side of the chest; an injury of the right shoulder.

No.

Application No.

and Title

APPENDIX No. 2 Article 3 - Procedural aspect

DOMESTIC COMPLAINT AND THE GOVERNMENT REACTION

Date of Complaint

Authority

Type of Reaction

Date(s)

Procedural Outcome

1.

25437/11 Sultanov v. Russia

2/03/2010

Investigation Committee

Consistently refused

The first refusal to initiate criminal proceedings was issued on 31/03/2010. The 4 th one (the last) was issued on 24/01/2011.

Refusals to initiate criminal proceedings were quashed 3 times by higher authorities. Existence of injuries was not clearly admitted by the domestic authorities. No version of events given. The applicant challenged the second refusal to initiate criminal investigation (15 July 2010) with the prosecutor ’ s office. This complaint was considered on the merits and the refusal was quashed.

2.

33032/11

Klimnenko v. Russia

30/04/2009

The Sovetskiy Department of the Investigative Committee of Rostov-on-Don

Consistently refused

10/08/2009; 01/03/2010; 11/03/2011; 11/04/2011

On 11/04/ 2011 - the refusal to institute criminal proceedings by an investigator. The conviction of 20/08/2010 was upheld on appeal by the Rostov Regional Court on 6/10/2010. Refusal under Article 125 of the CCPr – 25/11/2011 the Sovetskiy District Court, upheld on appeal by the Rostov Regional Court on 27/03/2012.

3.

48529/12

Rylov v. Russia

11/12/2008

Local Police Department

Criminal Investigation

01/12/2010 criminal case opened

Criminal case opened in view of disproportionate actions by the police officers, closed several months later in view of the lack of criminal conduct, re-opened again (as the applicant lawfully refused to submit to a body search which had not been authorised by any legal authority and had been performed in the presence of female observers (the investigator and officers attempted to body search the applicant to take keys to his flat for which the search had been authorised)the 1 st instance court judgment of 23/12/2011 upheld on appeal 31/01/2011 declared the criminal case was closed lawfully because the pre-investigation activities were complete and sufficient.

Administrative proceeding against the applicant and the investigator ’ s decision to carry out the investigation declared unlawful on 15/01/2009 and 25/01/2010. Contrary to these instructions and the court orders, the investigation concluded that the applicant ’ s actions were unlawful and the use of force was justified.

4.

4842/13

Rasputin v. Russia

27/08/2009

Amur Region Prosecutor ’ s Office

Consistently refused

The 1 st refusal to open a criminal case; 14/09/2009 – the 2 nd refusal, quashed by the superior prosecutor on 29/09/2009; 30/09/2009, 22/03/2010 – the 3 rd and 4 th refusals

The applicant ’ s complaint under Article 125 of the CCrP against the 4 th refusal to institute criminal proceedings was dismissed by the first-instance court decision of 28/04/2012, upheld on appeal on 17/07/2012. The investigator concluded that the applicant had been beaten up by his cellmates, no investigation into their actions was carried out.

5.

23379/13

Sitdikov v. Russia

17/02/2012

Deputy Head of the 1 st investigation unit of the Internal Affairs authorities of the RT ( ОВД СУ СК РФ по РТ ) / Prosecutor of the Republic of Tatarstan

Consistently refused

13/04/2012 - refusal to institute criminal proceedings

By a first instance judgment of 10/08/2012 (the Vakhitovskiy District Court of Kazan), upheld an appeal on 2/10/2012 (Judicial Division of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Tatarstan ), there was a refusal to initiate criminal proceedings. Ground for refusal: no evidence of an offence, the applicant beat himself

6.

48228/14 Sinegubov v. Russia

March 2011

Prosecutor ’ s office

Consistently refused

The first refusal to initiate criminal proceedings was issued on 03/05/2011. The last one (the 16 th ) was issued on 26/09/2016 .

On multiple occasions investigators refused to initiate criminal proceedings. These decisions were quashed by higher administrative authorities. Article 125 of the Code of Criminal Proceedings complaint against inaction of investigation was partly granted on 6/06/2013. On 8/10/2013 the proceedings regarding the second Article 125 inaction complaint were discontinued.

7.

49389/15 Golovachev v. Russia

27/01/2012

Investigation Committee

Consistently refused

10/03/2012,

23/07/2012,

29/08/2012

The applicant appealed against the refusal of 29/08/2012. On 08/04/2015 his complaint was dismissed on the merits by the first instance court. On 30/06/2015 the applicant ’ s appeal was dismissed. The authorities ’ version was the following: the applicant attempted to put on pants in a shower room, his leg got caught and he fell on a floor. The applicant also attempted to initiate civil proceedings seeking compensation.

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SULTANOV v. RUSSIA and 6 other applications

SULTANOV v. RUSSIA and 6 other applications

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