The ECHR awarded a Nizhny Novgorod resident 48 thousand euros for torture in police custody 13 years ago

The European Court of Human Rights awarded Nizhny Novgorod resident Anton Shestopalov 48 thousand euros for torture in a police department 13 years ago. This was reported on the website of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture.

In May 2004, Shestopalov, who was then a minor, was detained on suspicion of raping a former classmate and taken to the police department. After torture and beatings, the young man had to confess.

The next day, doctors recorded a closed head injury, concussion, bruises and abrasions. Soon, the victim girl gave written explanations in which she indicated that Shestopalov did not rape her.

Over the next two years, the investigation issued six decisions refusing to initiate criminal proceedings; in 2006, a case was opened, but was later suspended “due to failure to identify the suspects.” The statute of limitations expired in 2014.

The Strasbourg court concluded that several articles of the Convention had been violated in relation to Shestopalov, including Article 3 on the prohibition of torture, and ordered 48,550 euros in compensation for moral damages from the Russian authorities.