CCPR/C/128/D/2368/2014
The facts as submitted by the author
2.1
On 1 March 2002 at 7 a.m., several police officers searched the author’s apartment
in the city of Odessa, where the author resided with his wife. Subsequently, police officers
took the author into custody and brought him to the Ilyichevsk district police station for
questioning. 1 When he was taken from his home, the author was a perfectly healthy
individual with no medical complaints.
2.2
The author claims that from 1 to 3 March 2002,2 he was held in the Ilyichevsk police
station. There, he suffered torture and mistreatment at the hands of several police officers.
Specifically, he was beaten several times, with a rubber baton and a wooden baseball bat,
was suffocated with a plastic bag, was electrocuted, and suffered burns to his shoulder. He
was also hung on a metal bar. As a result, he lost consciousness several times. The
investigator entered in the records that the author had been detained on 4 March 2002. But
the author had been detained on 1 March, and remained in detention until 3 March 2002,
and he was forced to sign a confession.3 Immediately after he saw his lawyer on 4 March
2002, he retracted his statements, pointing out that they had been made under duress.
2.3
Upon his arrest, the author asked for the presence of his lawyer, but was beaten up
after each such request. A medical examination on 4 March 2002 established that he had
sustained a number of grave bodily injuries, which was confirmed on a medical certificate.4
On 20 March 2002, he was hospitalized and diagnosed with internal bleeding resulting
from severe beating; this was also confirmed on a medical certificate.5 During his
hospitalization, the author complained about the torture and mistreatment to the deputy
chief of the Odessa Regional Department of the Ministry of the Interior, but he never
received a response to the complaint. On 12 April 2002, the author again filed a complaint
with the Odessa Regional Department of the Ministry of the Interior,6 detailing the torture
that he had suffered at the hands of the police officers, but his complaint was ignored.
2.4
On 15 April 2002, the author’s lawyer filed another complaint with the Ministry of
the Interior regarding torture, which was also ignored. During the author’s pretrial detention,
police officers denied him proper medical care and access to his lawyer, and ignored his
numerous complaints about torture and mistreatment. The police officers suggested that the
author would be treated better if he confessed to committing a murder. The author’s lawyer
also filed a complaint with the prosecutor’s office of the Odessa region on 19 July 2002,
which was redirected to the prosecutor’s office of the city of Odessa. On 17 September
2002, the prosecutor’s office of the city of Odessa responded by rejecting the author’s
complaint.
2.5
The author submits that on 29 October 2002, the pretrial investigation was
concluded and he requested unlimited access to his criminal case file, but was granted only
two hours a week to prepare for his defence. Several complaints that had been filed by the
author and his lawyer, Mr. B.A.B.,7 were ignored and were not included in the file.
Studying his case file, the author stated again that he had only made certain statements
because he had been tortured, and that his confessions should not be retained.
2.6
Article 156 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine limits the duration of pretrial
detention to two months. This period can be extended for another four months by a judge.
An additional extension of up to nine months must be granted by an appellate judge, and
further extensions must be granted by a Supreme Court judge. The author further claims
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2
The author claims that initially, he was not informed of the charges against him. Subsequently, he and
his co-defendants were charged with 30 crimes, including theft, robbery, attempted murder and
murder, and drug-related charges, which were allegedly committed by the group in 1995 and then
from 1999 until 2002.
In other parts of the communication, the author refers to 4 March 2002 instead of 3 March 2002.
The author claims that the fact that he was unlawfully detained is evident from the records, which
include copies of statements taken from him by Mr. T.A.R., a criminal investigator, dated 1, 2 and 3
March 2002, and a medical certificate dated 4 March 2002.
The author submits a copy of the certificate.
A copy is provided by the author.
The author submits a copy of this complaint.
No further details are provided.