re decides to join this issue to the merits.
(c) The Court's decision on the admissibility of the complaint
60. The Court further notes that this complaint is not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 of the Convention and that it is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must therefore be declared admissible.
2. Merits
(a) Establishment of the facts
61. The Court reiterates that allegations of ill-treatment must be supported by appropriate evidence. In assessing evidence, the Court has generally applied the standard of proof "beyond reasonable doubt" (see Ireland v. the United Kingdom, 18 January 1978, § 161, Series A No. 25). However, 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 presumptions of fact will arise in respect of injuries occurring during such detention. Indeed, the burden of proof may be regarded as resting on the authorities to provide a satisfactory and convincing explanation (see Salman v. Turkey [GC], No. 21986/93, § 100, ECHR 2000-VII).
62. Where domestic proceedings have taken place, it is not the Court's task to substitute its own assessment of the facts for that of the domestic courts and, as a general rule, it is for those courts to assess the evidence before them (see Klaas v. Germany, 22 September 1993, § 29, Series A No. 269). Although the Court is not bound by the findings of the domestic courts, in normal circumstances it requires cogent elements to lead it to depart from the findings of fact reached by those courts (see Matko v. Slovenia, No. 43393/98, § 100, 2 November 2006). Where allegations are made under Article 3 of the Convention, however, the Court must apply a particularly thorough scrutiny (see, mutatis mutandis, Ribitsch, cited above, § 32).
63. In the present case it was not disputed between the parties, and the Court finds it established, that on 12 March 2003 the applicant was arrested and taken to the Rudnichniy District police station, where he was detained until his release on 14 March 2003. On the day following his release the applicant requested medical assistance at the Central Trauma Unit in Prokopyevsk. According to the medical certificate drawn up in the unit, the applicant was diagnosed with injuries to the kidneys, injuries and bruises on the upper extremities, buttocks and left shank and an injury to the soft tissue of the head (see paragraph 9 above). Furthermore, on 5 May 2003 the applicant had a chest X-ray which revealed that he had a fracture in the front part of the ninth rib in the consolidation phase (see paragraph 15 above).
64. In the first place, the Court observes that the Government did not claim that the applicant's injuries could have dated from a period prior to his being arrested or could have been sustained in the period between his release from the police station and his admittance to the Central Trauma Unit. In response to the findings of the medical reports the Government, citing the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, merely stated that the applicant had not been subjected to treatment in breach of Article 3 of the Convention. The Court observes that the applicant provided a detailed description of the ill-treatment to which he had allegedly been subjected and indicated its place, time and duration. It notes the consistency of the allegations made by the applicant that he had been ill-treated by police officers while in custody, and the fact that he maintained his allegations whenever he was able to make statements freely before the investigating authorities or the domestic courts. If the Government considere
> 1 2 3 ... 11 12 13 ... 17 18 19
Zaki.ru законы и право
поиск по сайту
каталог документов
добавить сайт Zaki.ru в избранное
Правовые акты международные
Правовые акты Российской Федерации
