P.R. (name deleted) v. Spain, Communication No.
160/2000,
U.N. Doc. CAT/C/25/D/160/2000 (2001).
Communication No. 160/2000
Submitted by: P.R. (name deleted) [represented by counsel]
Alleged victim: The author
State party: Spain
Date of the communication: 9 February 2000
The Committee against Torture, established under article 17 of the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment,
Meeting on 23 November 2000,
Adopts the following decision:
1. The author of the communication is Mr. P.R., a Spanish national who
claims to be the victim of violations by Spain of articles 12 and 13 of the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment. He is represented by counsel. The Committee
transmitted the communication to the State party, in accordance with article
22, paragraph 3, of the Convention, on 11 April 2000.
The facts as submitted by the author
2.1 The author claims that on the night of 29 October 1997, at about 3 a.m.,
as he was walking with two companions in Victoria Street in Murcia, he
approached two local police officers to ask whether they knew of a bar that
was open so that they could buy a few drinks. When one of the officers
replied that it was not a proper hour for drinking, the author turned to his
companions and made a disrespectful remark about the police. The two
policemen immediately bore down on the author, punching him and hitting
him with their truncheons, knocking him down and continuing to beat him
on the ground. Other local police officers were called to the scene by the
first two and joined in the beating. They then handcuffed him in a very
painful way and took him to the police station in Correos Street, from which