ber 2000 and his lawyer's complaint to the district prosecutor's office, including her detailed description of the injuries allegedly noticed on her client (see paragraphs 38 and 39 above), amounted to an "arguable claim" of ill-treatment at the hands of the police and warranted an investigation by the domestic authorities in conformity with the requirements of Article 3 of the Convention.
112. It transpires that shortly after the applicant's complaints the district prosecutor's office opened an inquiry into his alleged ill-treatment. Accordingly, the Court is satisfied that the authorities promptly launched the investigation. The inquiry was completed within several days with a refusal to institute criminal proceedings against the police officers. Shortly thereafter the trial and appellate courts also examined the applicant's allegations of ill-treatment and dismissed them. Hence, the question before the Court is not so much whether there has been an investigation but whether it was effective (see Krastanov v. Bulgaria, No. 50222/99, § 59, 30 September 2004).
113. As can be seen from the prosecutor's refusal to institute criminal proceedings against the police officers, it was based on their written explanations and on forensic report No. 1060.
114. As regards the forensic report, it is observed that its entry concerning the presence of only one police officer during the applicant's examination (see paragraph 27 above) seems to contradict A.M.'s statement that the applicant was examined in the presence of three police officers (see paragraph 86 above) - a discrepancy for which no explanation was offered by the Government. In this connection the Court emphasises that it has already pointed out that medical examinations of presumed victims of ill-treatment should be conducted outside the presence of police officers and other government officials in order to attain the required standards of independence and thoroughness (see {Akkoc} v. Turkey, Nos. 22947/93 and 22948/93, § 118, ECHR 2000-X; Karademir v. Turkey, No. 32990/96, § 53, 30 October 2001).
115. In any event, the Court has serious reservations concerning the accuracy and reliability of report No. 1060 and the way in which the applicant's medical examination was conducted. It is particularly surprising that although the expert mentioned the applicant's "complaints about pain in the left ear", he did not consider it necessary to question the applicant about the symptoms and the origin of his condition, or to examine his ear and to write down the applicant's explanations and his own findings (see {Akkoc}, ibid.; Pishchalnikov, cited above, § 59; compare Elci and Others v. Turkey, Nos. 23145/93 and 25091/94, § 642, 13 November 2003).
116. As to the police officers' statements, the Court cannot but observe that the prosecutor in charge of the inquiry did not consider it necessary to interview them in person, let alone arrange for their confrontation with the applicant, and confined himself to obtaining their written explanations instead.
117. The Court is further struck by the fact that the prosecutor did not interview the applicant about the circumstances of the alleged ill-treatment. He likewise made no attempts to question the applicant's lawyer or the medical personnel of the remand centre, where the applicant was admitted shortly after the alleged ill-treatment, or to identify and interview the applicant's cellmates in the police station or the remand centre. Even if the applicant's cellmates' names were not known to the prosecutor, he was expected to take steps on his own to identify them (see, among other authorities, Akulinin and Babich, cited above, § 53, and Vladimir Fedorov, cited above, § 73).
118. In the Court's view, the above-mentioned shortcomings critically undermined the effectiveness of the investigation
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