The Council of Europe has closed its supervision of 12 more cases concerning torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement officers, which had been under its enhanced control for over 20 years. This refers to the "Kaverzin / Afanasyev / Belousov v. Ukraine" group of cases, UNN reports with reference to the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Details
This group of cases had been under the enhanced supervision of the Council of Europe since 2005. It concerns torture, ill-treatment, and the state's failure to properly investigate such facts.
In these cases, the European Court of Human Rights established violations of Article 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms—the prohibition of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment. To terminate supervision in such cases, the payment of compensation is not enough. The state must demonstrate real changes, including effective investigations, proper legal assessment, procedural decisions, judicial review where grounds exist, and systemic steps to prevent the recurrence of such violations,
Context
Citizens Oleksandr Kaverzin, Oleksiy Afanasyev, and Vyacheslav Belousov were detained by officers of the then-militia between 2000 and 2005. They were charged with a series of crimes, including:
- Fraud;
- Robbery;
- Committing lewd acts against minor girls;
- Committing several murders under aggravating circumstances
and robbery.
In the early 2000s, all three filed complaints regarding torture by law enforcement officers. In particular, Kaverzin lost his sight and bruises were found on his body. Afanasyev was struck in the ear, resulting in a tumor and partial deafness.