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

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