10. On 20 March 2003 the applicant lodged a complaint with the Prokopyevsk Town Prosecutor, seeking institution of criminal proceedings against the police officers who had ill-treated him on 12 and 13 March 2003.
11. Five days later the Prokopyevsk Town prosecutor's office remitted the applicant's complaint to the Prokopyevsk Town Police Department with a request to conduct an official inquiry into the events of 12 and 13 March 2003.
12. On 7 April 2003 the head of the Prokopyevsk Town Police Department issued a decision, approving the findings of the official police inquiry into the applicant's complaints. The decision read as follows:
"On 25 March 2003 the police department received [the applicant's] complaint from the town prosecutor's office; [in that complaint the applicant] indicates that the police officers of the district police station applied psychological and physical pressure to him and his acquaintance, Ms S., in order to extract a confession statement.
According to [the applicant], on 12 March 2003, at approximately 10.00 a.m., he and Ms S. were arrested by a police officer, D., and taken to the Rudnichniy District Police Department, where in office No. 17, [officer] D., having handcuffed [the applicant] to the chair back, beat him with a shovel handle.
[The applicant] indicated that on a number of occasions, in the police station between 12 and 14 March 2003, the police officers D., A., I., K. and Ko. had taken him from a detention unit to the service garage, where [they] had beaten him up, had buried him naked in the snow, had threatened him and his girlfriend with violence, [and] had applied psychological pressure.
Ms S. explained that after [she had been] taken to the police station, she had been near office No. 17 for approximately two hours and had heard [the applicant] screaming. After [the officer] D. had questioned her, she was placed in a detention unit where she remained until 9.00 a.m. on 13 March 2003. Ms S. also asserts that psychological pressure was applied to her.
The police officer, D., stated that on the basis of information received pertaining to an armed robbery, on 12 March 2003, at approximately 10.00 a.m., he had arrested [the applicant]. As the latter had attempted to hide on the premises of a psychiatric hospital and a [hospital] staff member had called [the police], [the applicant] was taken to the police station in a police car. On the same day criminal case No. 665913 was opened pursuant to Article 162 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code in respect of the robbery.
[The officer] D. also explained that Ms S. had voluntarily gone to the police station. D. had a talk with her (not an [official interrogation]) as she had close ties to [the applicant] and could have certain information. Ms S. was not detained in the detention unit.
A police officer working with arrestees, Mr Se., stated in his explanation note, that Ms S. had been registered by housing maintenance authorities (registration No. 1309) and, on an order from [officer] D., [he] had verified information about her in the address inquiry office. However, she had not been placed in the detention unit.
All the police officers, who were named in [the applicant's] complaint and statements, save for Mr K. who had been on annual leave since 24 March 2003, firmly deny that physical force, threats or psychological pressure were applied to [the applicant].
However, taking into account that on 15 March 2003 [the applicant] applied to the Central Trauma Unit (certificate No. 1983), which recorded injuries, [and having regard to] discrepancies between statements of individuals and police officers, it is necessary to perform certain investigative actions to establish the truth, which is impossible to do within the limits of the official inquiry and is within the competence of the prosecution authorities."
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