Victim of police torture continues to fight for her rights

The Desnyanskyi District Court of Chernihiv once again overturned the prosecutor’s office’s decision to close the criminal case on the fact of causing bodily harm by police officers to Chernihiv resident Mykhailo Koval and his relatives, which took place back in 2001, and sent the case to the Chernihiv prosecutor to resume the pre-trial investigation.

We will remind you that in November 2012, the European Court of Human Rights recognized in its decision that Mr. Koval, his wife and son were subjected to cruel treatment by law enforcement officers, the level of which is considered torture, and that the state of Ukraine did not conduct an effective investigation of complaints about these unlawful actions (violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights).

The European Court also found a violation of other articles of the Convention (Articles 5, 8 and 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention), in particular regarding the violation of the right to liberty and personal integrity, the right to respect for private and family life and home, and the right to property.

As satisfaction, the European Court of Human Rights ordered Ukraine to pay Mykhailo Koval and his relatives almost 35 thousand euros.

– It is symbolic that this decision was announced on December 20, the Day of the Ukrainian Militia, – notes Mr. Koval. – For 11 years I have been trying to protect my rights and demand that my executioners be brought to justice. But they calmly continued to serve in the authorities, received promotions and orders, held and even now hold high positions in the regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

– Even the European Court has recognized the fact of torture and other illegal actions against me and my family. Over the years, the court has already canceled the decisions to close the criminal case four times and the Prosecutor General’s Office twice have ordered the prosecutor’s office to conduct a new investigation. But the prosecutor’s office of Chernihiv has stubbornly refused to recognize the presence of a crime in the actions of law enforcement officers for 11 years, – the pensioner is indignant.

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In May 2012, the European Court of Human Rights, in its decision in the case “Kaverzin v. Ukraine”, noted that torture and the lack of effective investigation of torture facts by the prosecutor’s office are a systemic problem for Ukraine.

According to the Kharkiv Institute for Social Research, in 2011 almost a million (980 thousand) Ukrainians suffered from illegal violence in the police.