{"id":15309,"date":"2021-06-15T09:51:05","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T09:51:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/?p=15309"},"modified":"2021-06-15T09:51:14","modified_gmt":"2021-06-15T09:51:14","slug":"case-of-milovanov-v-russia-european-court-of-human-rights-application-no-48741-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/?p=15309","title":{"rendered":"CASE OF MILOVANOV v. RUSSIA (European Court of Human Rights) Application no. 48741\/10"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The application concerns the applicant\u2019s alleged ill-treatment in police custody, the alleged lack of an effective investigation into his complaint and the use by the trial court of his statements allegedly obtained as a result of duress.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">THIRD SECTION<br \/>\n<strong>CASE OF MILOVANOV v. RUSSIA<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>(Application no. 48741\/10)<\/em><br \/>\nJUDGMENT<br \/>\nSTRASBOURG<br \/>\n15 June 2021<\/p>\n<p>This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In the case of Milovanov v. Russia,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:<\/p>\n<p>Darian Pavli, President,<br \/>\nDmitry Dedov,<br \/>\nPeeter Roosma, judges,<br \/>\nand Olga Chernishova, Deputy Section Registrar,<\/p>\n<p>Having regard to:<\/p>\n<p>the application (no.\u00a048741\/10) against the Russian Federation lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (\u201cthe Convention\u201d) by a Russian national, Mr Aleksandr Nikolayevich Milovanov (\u201cthe applicant\u201d), on 7\u00a0August 2010;<\/p>\n<p>the decision to give notice to the Russian Government (\u201cthe Government\u201d) of the complaints concerning the applicant\u2019s ill-treatment and the use of evidence allegedly obtained under duress;<\/p>\n<p>the parties\u2019 observations;<\/p>\n<p>Having deliberated in private on 25 May 2021,<\/p>\n<p>Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17106\" src=\"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/INTRODUCTION.jpg\" alt=\"INTRODUCTION\" width=\"111\" height=\"17\" \/><\/p>\n<p>1. The application concerns the applicant\u2019s alleged ill-treatment in police custody, the alleged lack of an effective investigation into his complaint and the use by the trial court of his statements allegedly obtained as a result of duress.<\/p>\n<p><strong>THE FACTS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>2. The applicant was born in 1982 and is detained in Bor, the Nizhniy Novgorod Region. He was represented by Ms O.A. Sadovskaya, a lawyer from the Committee against Torture, a non\u2011governmental organisation based in Nizhniy Novgorod.<\/p>\n<p>3. The Russian Government (\u201cthe Government\u201d) were represented initially by Mr G. Matyushkin, the Representative of the Russian Federation to the European Court of Human Rights, and then by his successor in that office, Mr M.\u00a0Galperin.<\/p>\n<p>4. The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I. The applicant\u2019s arrest and alleged ill-treatment<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>A. Events of 18 and 19\u00a0June 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>5. At 10.05\u00a0p.m. on 18 June 2008, officers of the Federal Security Service (\u201cthe FSB\u201d) and of the Sarov Department of the Federal Drug Control Service of the Nizhniy Novgorod Region (\u201cthe Drug Control Service\u201d) arrested the applicant, on suspicion of drug trafficking, during a test purchase operation. Another person (who was subsequently one of his co-accused) managed to escape and was arrested later on that date.<\/p>\n<p>6. According to the statements of seven witnesses who saw the applicant on 17 and 18\u00a0June 2008, he had not had any visible injuries prior to his arrest.<\/p>\n<p>7. According to the applicant, the officers took him out of the car, handcuffed him, and hit and kicked him in the head, body and legs. One officer hit him in the chest and groin, allegedly while planting drugs on him.<\/p>\n<p>8. According to the official account, the applicant resisted the arrest and attempted to escape. The officers used physical force against him, forced him on to the ground and handcuffed him. At 10.30\u00a0p.m. they took him to the Drug Control Service, where they searched him in the presence of several persons including attesting witnesses, and discovered drugs on him.<\/p>\n<p>9. According to the applicant, once the attesting witnesses had left the premises, the officers encouraged him to sign some documents. When he refused to obey, an officer handcuffed him again. Officers V. and K. of the Drug Control Service and two FSB officers severely beat him and kicked him in the head and body. Electric shocks were applied to his back and buttocks, and he was tied up and beaten on his bare heels with a baseball bat. The officers also beat him on his body with a belt. One of them threatened the applicant with a working electric drill which he brought close to his head. At some point the applicant lost consciousness, and the police officers poured water on him. Then, at about 4\u00a0a.m., the officers left him in the office handcuffed to a radiator, without food or water.<\/p>\n<p>10. On 19\u00a0June 2008 he signed some documents \u2013 which were said to be \u201cexplanations\u201d &#8211; without having read them. He was then taken to the FSB premises and between 4 p.m. and 6.30\u00a0p.m. interviewed by an FSB officer without a lawyer being present. The applicant made a number of confession statements and was then taken back to the Drug Control Service building.<\/p>\n<p>11. At\u00a08.50\u00a0p.m. on 19\u00a0June 2008 an investigator of the Drug Control Service drew up a record of the applicant\u2019s arrest and interviewed him as a suspect. No lawyer was present. According to the arrest record signed by the applicant, he \u201cregretted\u201d having stored drugs for their subsequent transfer to one of his co-accused. On the same date the applicant signed a document stating that he had refused legal assistance \u201cwhen apprehended and during his first questioning as a suspect\u201d. He further refused to testify as a suspect.<\/p>\n<p>12. At 10\u00a0p.m. on 19\u00a0June 2008 the applicant was transferred to the temporary detention cell of the Sarov Department of the Interior (\u201cthe IVS\u201d) and was examined on admission. On 20\u00a0June 2008 he complained of pain and stated that he had been beaten with a truncheon and a belt by the police officers, who had also used an electric shock device. According to the records of the IVS and those of the ambulance called for the applicant on that date, he had abrasions in the breastbone region; a haematoma in the right lumbar region; an oval subcutaneous haematoma the size of an egg; and several bluish subcutaneous \u201cribbon-shaped\u201d haematomas of both thighs. He was diagnosed with contusions of lower back and thighs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>B. Questioning on 20\u00a0June and 3\u00a0July 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>13. On 20\u00a0June 2008, apparently after the applicant\u2019s injuries were recorded (see paragraph\u00a012 above), the applicant was charged with the procurement, storage and attempted sale of drugs in particularly large quantities. He was questioned as an accused in the presence of a State-appointed lawyer. The applicant (i) confessed to having been involved in the sale of drugs between July 2007 and January 2008, describing his role as an intermediary; (ii) admitted that he had been aware of the intention of one of his co-accused to sell drugs on 18\u00a0June 2008, but insisted that he had merely been a driver and claimed that the drugs had been planted on him; and (iii)\u00a0testified that the officers had ill-treated him, and that he had requested that his injuries be recorded. On the same day a court ordered that the applicant be detained on remand.<\/p>\n<p>14. On 3\u00a0July 2008 the applicant was questioned as an accused. He maintained his confession of 20\u00a0June 2008 in substance and stated that the officers had not put pressure on him. According to the interview record, another State appointed lawyer had been present. According to the applicant, the lawyer had been absent during the interview and had signed the record later.<\/p>\n<p><strong>C. Forensic medical examinations<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>15. On 9\u00a0April 2009 there was a forensic medical examination of the applicant, which was commissioned by the Committee against Torture. The expert found that the multiple bruises to the applicant\u2019s body and the abrasions on his chest (as recorded in June 2008) could have been caused by blunt objects, had not caused harm to his health, and could have been inflicted on 18 to 19 June 2008.<\/p>\n<p>16. On 15\u00a0April 2010 a forensic medical examination commissioned by the investigators took place. The expert confirmed that in June 2008 (see paragraph\u00a012 above) the applicant had had chest abrasions, and bruises to his back, buttocks and hips; that the injuries could have appeared as a result of the applicant\u2019s falling on to the ground; and that they had not caused any harm to his health. The expert found no reference to injuries which \u201ccould have been related to burns\u201d in the medical records.<\/p>\n<p><strong>II. V.\u2019s confession in unrelated proceedings<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>17. In the meantime, criminal proceedings were brought against Officers V. and K. of the Drug Control Service in connection with alleged ill\u2011treatment and attempts to plant drugs on a private person. In the context of those proceedings V. produced a \u201cstatement of surrender and confession\u201d of 20 March 2009 in which he stated that he had seen his superior planting drugs in the applicant\u2019s pocket and kicking him; and that he had seen other officers beating the applicant and applying electric shocks to him at the Drug Control Service office.<\/p>\n<p><strong>III. Inquiry into the allegations of ill-treatment<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>18. On 20\u00a0June 2008 the applicant complained of ill-treatment to the Sarov prosecutor\u2019s office. As the case concerned the allegedly unlawful actions of officers of both the Drug Control Service and the FSB, two sets of parallel inquiries were conducted, and the case was passed several times between different investigative authorities. The inquiries can be summarised as follows.<\/p>\n<p>19. Between 3 July 2007 and 16 April 2010 investigators of the Sarov Investigative Department issued five refusals to open criminal proceedings against the officers of the Drug Control Service. Four of the refusals were subsequently quashed as having been based on incomplete inquiries. In the last refusal, dated 16 April 2010 and upheld at final instance by the domestic courts on 12 November 2010, an investigator concluded that the officers had legitimately used physical force during the arrest as the applicant had attempted to escape. The investigator found no evidence of any duress. He cited the most recent forensic expert report and the statements of six officers of the Drug Control Service (three of whom were identified by the applicant as perpetrators), two FSB officers and the attesting witnesses. All of them, including V., denied any allegations of duress. The investigators rejected the applicant\u2019s account of the events and V.\u2019s confession (see paragraph\u00a017 above) as being at variance with other evidence.<\/p>\n<p>20. Between 20\u00a0October 2008 and 21\u00a0August 2009 investigators of the Military Investigations Department of the Nizhniy Novgorod Region issued four refusals to open criminal proceedings against the FSB officers. Three of the refusals were subsequently quashed as incomplete. In the last refusal, dated 21\u00a0August 2009 and subsequently assessed as lawful by the first\u2011instance court on 11 May 2010, the investigator referred to the IVS record of the applicant\u2019s injuries and to explanations of the alleged perpetrators (including V.), two further police officers and two attesting witnesses, who denied any allegations of duress.<\/p>\n<p><strong>IV. Criminal proceedings against the applicant<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>21. During the trial the applicant pleaded not guilty, arguing that his role in the events of 18\u00a0June 2008 had been confined to driving one of the co\u2011accused to his meeting with the buyer; maintained his account of ill\u2011treatment; and applied to have his statements of 20\u00a0June and 3\u00a0July 2008 declared inadmissible.<\/p>\n<p>22. Officers V. and K. submitted to the trial court that their superior had planted drugs on the applicant after his arrest and had hit him, and that one of the attesting witnesses was a former officer of the Drug Control Service. The court examined V.\u2019s confession (see paragraph\u00a017 above), as well as the material from the inquiries into the applicant\u2019s allegations of duress (as they stood at the relevant time) and the medical record compiled at the IVS. The court heard the attesting witnesses, and three of the alleged perpetrators, (including V.\u2019s superior) who denied any use of force against the applicant, apart from forcing him on to the ground and handcuffing him during the arrest.<\/p>\n<p>23. On 2\u00a0December 2009 the Sarov Town Court convicted the applicant of the attempted sale of drugs in particularly large quantities as part of a group, and sentenced him to twelve years\u2019 imprisonment. The court relied on his statements of 20\u00a0June and 3\u00a0July 2008 (see paragraphs\u00a013 and 14 above), noting that they had been made in the presence of lawyers. The court summarily rejected his allegations of duress as unfounded, referring to the refusal to bring criminal proceedings against the FSB officers. The court also relied on submissions of the other co-accused and other witnesses; material evidence; records of searches and seizures; and audio recordings of telephone conversations concerning the sale of drugs. The court rejected V.\u2019s and K.\u2019s trial statements as unproven by any other material.<\/p>\n<p>24. Following the applicant\u2019s appeal, on 12\u00a0March 2010 the Nizhniy Novgorod Regional Court upheld the conviction, finding that the trial court had lawfully admitted the applicant\u2019s confessions as corroborated by extensive evidence.<\/p>\n<p>25. At a later stage a judge of the Supreme Court of Russia decided to bring supervisory review proceedings pursuant to the applicant\u2019s complaint of a violation of his defence rights during the appeal, and sent the case for examination by the Presidium of the Nizhniy Novgorod Regional Court. In the absence of an update from the parties, it appears that the appellate judgment was not quashed or amended.<\/p>\n<p>RELEVANT LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND PRACTICE<\/p>\n<p>26. For a summary of relevant provisions of the Police Act, the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, see Ryabtsev v.\u00a0Russia (no.\u00a013642\/06, \u00a7\u00a7\u00a047-52, 14\u00a0November 2013), and Lyapin v.\u00a0Russia (no.\u00a046956\/09, \u00a7\u00a7\u00a099 et seq., 24\u00a0July 2014). For relevant domestic law and practice concerning the rights of suspects, see Turbylev v.\u00a0Russia (no.\u00a04722\/09, \u00a7\u00a7 46-49, 6 October 2015).<\/p>\n<p><strong>THE LAW<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLES 3 AND 13 OF THE CONVENTION<\/p>\n<p>27. The applicant complained under Articles\u00a03 and 13 of the Convention that on 18 and 19 June 2008 he had been ill-treated by the Drug Control Service officers and that there had been no effective investigation into the matter. Articles\u00a03 and 13 read as follows:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Article 3<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Article 13<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in [the] Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>A. Admissibility<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>28. The Court notes that these complaints are not manifestly ill\u2011founded within the meaning of Article\u00a035\u00a0\u00a7\u00a03\u00a0(a) of the Convention and are not inadmissible on other grounds. They must therefore be declared admissible.<\/p>\n<p><strong>B. Merits<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>1. The parties\u2019 submissions<\/em><\/p>\n<p>29. The applicant maintained his complaints.<\/p>\n<p>30. According to the Government, the applicant\u2019s injuries might have been inflicted during the arrest. The forensic medical examination of 15\u00a0April 2010 had not revealed any bruises on his buttocks and legs.<\/p>\n<p><em>2. The Court\u2019s assessment<\/em><\/p>\n<p>31. The Court observes that the applicant had not had any injuries prior to being apprehended in the evening of 18\u00a0June 2008 (see paragraph\u00a07 above.). After spending several hours in police custody he was found to have multiple injuries, as recorded by IVS personnel and the ambulance doctors (see paragraph\u00a012 above). According to the forensic expert, the injuries could have been inflicted between 18 and 19\u00a0June 2008 (see paragraph\u00a016 above). The Court considers that the injuries could arguably have resulted from the violence allegedly suffered by the applicant on those dates at the hands of the police. These factors are sufficient to give rise to a presumption in favour of his account of events and to satisfy the Court that his allegations of police violence were credible.<\/p>\n<p>32. The applicant\u2019s allegations of ill\u2011treatment were summarily dismissed by a series of refusals to initiate criminal proceedings, each time issued as a result of the pre\u2011investigation inquiries. The Court reiterates that the mere carrying out of a pre\u2011investigation inquiry under Article\u00a0144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation is insufficient if the authorities are to comply with the standards established under Article\u00a03 of the Convention for an effective investigation into credible allegations of ill\u2011treatment in police custody (see Lyapin, cited above, \u00a7\u00a0129).<\/p>\n<p>33. The Court has no reason to hold otherwise in the present case. A forensic medical examination took place after a two-year delay (see paragraph\u00a016 above). The investigators\u2019 decisions were unreservedly based on the \u201cexplanations\u201d collected from the police officers. The domestic findings contain no explanation as to how and why, as a result of handcuffing the applicant and forcing him on to the ground during the arrest (as the official account suggests), the police officers could have injured him on the chest and back or inflicted multiple ribbon-shaped bruises to his hips. The Court further notes that the trial court\u2019s findings were tainted with the same defects. Accordingly, the Court finds that the State failed to carry out an effective investigation into the applicant\u2019s allegations of police violence.<\/p>\n<p>34. Given that the Government\u2019s explanations denying the applicant\u2019s credible allegations of police violence were provided as a result of domestic inquiries falling short of the requirements of Article\u00a03, the Court finds that they cannot be considered satisfactory or convincing. It holds that the Government have failed to discharge their burden of proof and produce evidence capable of casting doubt on the applicant\u2019s account of events, which it therefore finds established in so far as it is supported by evidence.<\/p>\n<p>35. The applicant alleged that he had been subjected to electric shocks on 18 to 19 June 2008. Having regard to the contents of the medical documents, including those compiled on the date following the alleged ill\u2011treatment (see paragraph\u00a012 above), the Court is unable to conclude that the applicant was subjected to ill-treatment by electric shock. Having regard to the applicant\u2019s injuries confirmed by the medical evidence, the Court finds that the applicant was subjected at the hands of the police to inhuman and degrading treatment.<\/p>\n<p>36. The foregoing considerations are sufficient to enable the Court to conclude that there has been a violation of Article\u00a03 of the Convention under its substantive and procedural limbs.<\/p>\n<p>37. In the light of the above, the Court considers that it is not necessary to examine separately the complaint under Article\u00a013.<\/p>\n<p>II. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE\u00a06 OF THE CONVENTION<\/p>\n<p>38. The applicant complained that his conviction had been based on the self-incriminating statements he had made (i)\u00a0on 19\u00a0June 2008 under duress, and (ii)\u00a0on 20\u00a0June and 3\u00a0July 2008 as a result of the ill-treatment to which he had been subjected earlier. He relied on Article\u00a06 \u00a7\u00a7\u00a01 and 3\u00a0(c) of the Convention, the relevant parts of which reads as follows:<\/p>\n<p>\u201c1. In the determination of &#8230; any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fair &#8230; hearing &#8230; by [a] &#8230; tribunal &#8230;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>3. Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following minimum rights: &#8230;<\/p>\n<p>(c) to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing\u00a0&#8230;\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>A. As regards admission of the self-incriminating statement of 20\u00a0June 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>1. Admissibility<\/em><\/p>\n<p>39. The Court notes that the complaint concerning the use of the record of the applicant\u2019s interview on 20\u00a0June 2008 is not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article\u00a035\u00a0\u00a7\u00a03\u00a0(a) of the Convention and it is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must therefore be declared admissible.<\/p>\n<p><em>2. Merits<\/em><\/p>\n<p>(a) The parties\u2019 submissions<\/p>\n<p>40. The applicant maintained that his statement of 20\u00a0June 2008 was inadmissible evidence as it had been obtained as a result of duress, and that his inadmissibility plea had not been subjected to thorough scrutiny.<\/p>\n<p>41. The Government submitted that the applicant\u2019s right to a fair trial had not been breached as the impugned statement had been given in the presence of a lawyer and was consistent with other evidence.<\/p>\n<p>(b) The Court\u2019s assessment<\/p>\n<p>42. The Court reiterates that the admission of confession statements obtained in violation of Article\u00a03 renders the criminal proceedings as a whole automatically unfair, irrespective of the probative value of those statements and irrespective of whether their use was decisive in securing the defendant\u2019s conviction (see Aleksandr Konovalov v.\u00a0Russia, no.\u00a039708\/07, \u00a7\u00a7\u00a053-56, 28\u00a0November 2017).<\/p>\n<p>43. The Court has found that the applicant was subjected to ill-treatment in police custody on 18 and 19\u00a0June 2008 (see paragraphs\u00a034-35 above). On the following day he was questioned again as an accused, immediately after his injuries were recorded. He reiterated a substantial part of his initial confession. The Court does not consider it unlikely that at the time of the questioning he was still suffering from the effects of the ill-treatment. The Court considers that the record of 20\u00a0June 2008 of the applicant\u2019s questioning as an accused was tainted by the applicant\u2019s previous ill\u2011treatment by the police (see Aleksandr Konovalov, cited above, \u00a7\u00a7\u00a013-14 and 54, and Golubyatnikov and Zhuchkov v.\u00a0Russia, nos. 44822\/06 and 49869\/06, \u00a7\u00a7\u00a0113-14, 9 October 2018).<\/p>\n<p>44. The statement of 20 June 2008 was then directly relied on in the conviction (see paragraph\u00a023 above). However, the trial court failed to carry out its own independent assessment with a view to ascertaining whether there were reasons to exclude from evidence that record containing the confession statements, which had allegedly been tainted by a violation of Article\u00a03 of the Convention. In particular, the trial court refused to take into account V.\u2019s confession, which he had reiterated in part in a court room (see paragraphs 17 and 22 above). The court rejected V.\u2019s statements as unreliable merely on the ground that they were in contradiction with the statements made by attesting witnesses and other police officers, including by V.\u2019s superior, whom both the applicant and V. had identified as one of the perpetrators (see paragraphs 22-23 above). This lack of a careful assessment of the quality of the impugned evidence and the circumstances in which it was obtained was not remedied by the appellate court. The Court concludes that the use of the confession statement of 20\u00a0June 2008, together with the lack of appropriate safeguards at the trial, rendered the applicant\u2019s trial unfair. There has accordingly been a breach of Article 6 \u00a7 1 of the Convention.<\/p>\n<p>B. As regards the statements of 19\u00a0June and 3\u00a0July 2008<\/p>\n<p>45. Having regard to the above findings, the Court considers that there is no need to examine separately the admissibility and merits of the complaint regarding the admission of statements of 19\u00a0June and 3\u00a0July 2008.<\/p>\n<p>III. OTHER ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF THE CONVENTION<\/p>\n<p>46. Lastly, the applicant complained under Article\u00a06 of the Convention that he had been ineffectively represented by a State-appointed lawyer and that the domestic courts had failed to examine all the relevant facts and to assess them correctly.<\/p>\n<p>47. Having regard to all the material in its possession and in so far as the matters complained of are within its competence, the Court finds that the applicant\u2019s complaints do not disclose any appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms set out in the Convention or its Protocols and must be rejected as being manifestly ill-founded pursuant to Article\u00a035 \u00a7\u00a7\u00a03\u00a0(a) and\u00a04 of the Convention.<\/p>\n<p>IV. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE\u00a041 OF THE CONVENTION<\/p>\n<p>48. Article\u00a041 of the Convention provides:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the Court finds that there has been a violation of the Convention or the Protocols thereto, and if the internal law of the High Contracting Party concerned allows only partial reparation to be made, the Court shall, if necessary, afford just satisfaction to the injured party.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>A. Damage<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>49. The applicant\u2019s representative claimed 40,000 euros (EUR) in respect of non-pecuniary damage, and the applicant in a letter enclosed with his observations claimed EUR\u00a0250,000 under that head.<\/p>\n<p>50. The Government contested the amount claimed as excessive.<\/p>\n<p>51. Having regard to the violations found, the Court awards the applicant EUR\u00a026,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage, plus any tax that may be chargeable, and rejects the remainder of the complaint.<\/p>\n<p><strong>B. Costs and expenses<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>52. The applicant did not claim costs and expenses. Accordingly, there is no call to make an award under this head.<\/p>\n<p><strong>C. Default interest<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>53. The Court considers it appropriate that the default interest rate should be based on the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank, to which should be added three percentage points.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1. Declares admissible the complaints under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention about the applicant\u2019s alleged ill-treatment in police custody and the lack of an effective investigation thereof, as well as the complaint under Article 6 of the Convention concerning the use in evidence of the applicant\u2019s confession statement of 20\u00a0June 2008;<\/p>\n<p>2. Holds that there has been a violation of Article\u00a03 of the Convention under its substantive and procedural limbs;<\/p>\n<p>3. Holds that there is no need to examine separately the merits of the complaint under Article\u00a013 of the Convention in conjunction with Article\u00a03 of the Convention;<\/p>\n<p>4. Holds that there has been a violation of Article\u00a06 of the Convention on account of the use in evidence of the applicant\u2019s confession statement of 20\u00a0June 2008;<\/p>\n<p>5. Holds that there is no need to examine separately the admissibility and merits of the complaint under Article\u00a06 about the use in evidence of the self-incriminating statements of 19\u00a0June and 3\u00a0July 2008;<\/p>\n<p>6. Declares the remainder of the application inadmissible;<\/p>\n<p>7. Holds<\/p>\n<p>(a) that the respondent State is to pay the applicant, within three months, EUR\u00a026,000 (twenty-six thousand euros), plus any tax that may be chargeable, in respect of non-pecuniary damage, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement;<\/p>\n<p>(b) that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amount at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points;<\/p>\n<p>8. Dismisses the remainder of the applicant\u2019s claim for just satisfaction.<\/p>\n<p>Done in English, and notified in writing on 15 June 2021, pursuant to Rule\u00a077\u00a0\u00a7\u00a7\u00a02 and 3 of the Rules of Court.<\/p>\n<p>Olga Chernishova \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Darian Pavli<br \/>\nDeputy Registrar \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0President<\/p>\n<div class=\"social-share-buttons\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/laweuro.com\/?p=15309\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https:\/\/laweuro.com\/?p=15309&text=CASE+OF+MILOVANOV+v.+RUSSIA+%28European+Court+of+Human+Rights%29+Application+no.+48741%2F10\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=https:\/\/laweuro.com\/?p=15309&title=CASE+OF+MILOVANOV+v.+RUSSIA+%28European+Court+of+Human+Rights%29+Application+no.+48741%2F10\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https:\/\/laweuro.com\/?p=15309&description=CASE+OF+MILOVANOV+v.+RUSSIA+%28European+Court+of+Human+Rights%29+Application+no.+48741%2F10\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pinterest<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The application concerns the applicant\u2019s alleged ill-treatment in police custody, the alleged lack of an effective investigation into his complaint and the use by the trial court of his statements allegedly obtained as a result of duress. 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