ts obligations under Article 38 § 1 (a) of the Convention (see {Timurtas} v. Turkey, No. 3531/94, § 66, ECHR 2000-VI). In a case where the application raises issues of the effectiveness of the investigation, the documents of the criminal investigation are fundamental to the establishment of facts and their absence may prejudice the Court's proper examination of the complaint both at the admissibility stage and at the merits stage (see {Tanrikulu}, cited above, § 70).
63. The Court observes that on 10 March 2009 it requested the Government to submit a copy of the file of the investigation opened into the events of 10 February 2001. The evidence contained in that file was regarded by the Court as crucial to the establishment of the facts in the present case. The Government failed to reply to this request.
64. The Court notes that the Government did not provide any explanation to justify withholding the key information requested by the Court.
65. Having regard to the importance of cooperation by the respondent Government in Convention proceedings and the difficulties associated with the establishment of the facts in cases such as the present one, the Court finds that the Russian Government fell short of their obligations under Article 38 § 1 (a) of the Convention on account of their failure to submit copies of the documents requested in respect of the events of 10 February 2001.
II. Alleged violation of Article 3 of the Convention
66. Under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention the applicant complained that he had been ill-treated by the police officers on 10 February 2001. He also complained that the authorities had failed to carry out a proper investigation in this connection. The Court finds it appropriate to examine these grievances under Article 3 of the Convention which provides as follows:
"No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."
A. The parties' submissions
67. The Government disagreed with the applicant's complaints and allegations, having relied on the judgment of the Butyrskiy District Court of 10 February 2006. They argued that in the course of the domestic proceedings the applicant's allegations of ill-treatment had been thoroughly investigated and had been found to have been unproven. Accordingly, the application should be rejected as unsubstantiated.
68. The applicant maintained his complaints. In particular, he claimed that the case file contained sufficient evidence of ill-treatment and that the ensuing investigation had fallen short of the requirements of Article 3 under its procedural head.
B. The Court's assessment
1. Alleged ill-treatment by State officials
(a) General principles
69. The Court has observed on many occasions that Article 3 of the Convention enshrines one of the fundamental values of democratic societies and as such prohibits in absolute terms torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (see, for example, Aksoy v. Turkey, 18 December 1996, § 62, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1996-VI, and {Aydin} v. Turkey, 25 September 1997, § 81, Reports 1997-VI). The Court further indicates, as it has held on many occasions, that the authorities have an obligation to protect the physical integrity of persons in detention and that in assessing evidence it has generally applied the standard of proof "beyond reasonable doubt" (see Ireland v. the United Kingdom, 18 January 1978, § 161, Series A No. 25). Such proof may follow from the coexistence of sufficiently strong, clear and concordant inferences or of similar unrebutted presumptions of fact. Where the events in issue lie wholly, or in large part, within the exclusive knowledge of the authorities, as in the case of persons within their control in custody, strong presum
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