CEDH · CASELAW;JUDGMENTS;CHAMBER;ENG — 29 octobre 2015

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THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA   (Application no. 37537/07)                   JUDGMENT     STRASBOURG   29 October 2015     FINAL   29/01/2016   This judgment has become final under Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Hajrulahu v. the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:   András Sajó, President,   Elisabeth Steiner,   Khanlar Hajiyev,   Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska,   Julia Laffranque,   Paulo Pinto de Albuquerque,   Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos, judges, and Søren Nielsen, Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 6 October 2015, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date: PROCEDURE 1.     The case originated in an application (no. 37537/07) against the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a Macedonian national, Mr   Ferid Hajrulahu (“the applicant”), on 13 August 2007. 2.     The applicant was represented by Mr Z. Gavriloski, a lawyer practising in Skopje. The Macedonian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr K. Bogdanov. 3.     The applicant complained that he had been held incommunicado and ill-treated by the police, that there had been no effective investigation into his allegations of ill-treatment, and that his conviction had been based on a confession obtained under duress. 4.     On 1 October 2013 the application was communicated to the Government. THE FACTS I.     THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE 5.     The applicant was born in 1985. He resides in Germany. 6.     At around 11 p.m. on 15 July 2005 an anti-tank mine exploded in the courtyard of a police station in Skopje, causing considerable material damage. A.     The events of 16 August 2005 7.     On 16 August 2005 an investigating judge of the Skopje Court of First Instance (“the trial court”) ordered ( Kri.br.308/2005 and ID.br.921/05 ) a search of the home and other property belonging to the applicant’s father and the father of F.R. (a co-defendant in the ensuing criminal proceedings, see paragraph 22 below), on account of a reasonable suspicion that relevant items of evidence relating to allegations of terrorism and trafficking in arms would be found. 8.     The search was carried out at 9.30 a.m. on the same day, in the presence of the applicant’s father and two neighbours, who acted as witnesses. According to the search record, which was signed by a police officer, the applicant’s father and the witnesses, the following objects were found: a semi-automatic weapon; a case containing nine bullets; ten TNT bullets; a slow-burning fuse and a detonator; an audio tape; CDs; six photographs of the applicant and a piece of paper with a map drawn on it. At the request of the applicant’s father, the search record indicated that he “does not know the origin of the objects found”, and at the request of the attending witnesses the record noted that they “had no comments to make on the work of the police officers”. A certificate of the seized objects was issued to the applicant’s father, which the latter signed. 9.     The police officer who had carried out the search submitted an official note, in which he listed all the above objects found in the house of the applicant’s father. The note stated, inter alia : “The wanted person [the applicant] was not found and according to his mother, he was on a visit, but (the mother) did not want to specify where.” 10.     The applicant’s father was taken to a police station for an interview. On that occasion he denied that weapons found in his house belonged to him. He stated that it was possible that they belonged to the applicant, whom he had not seen since 14 August 2005 at 8 a.m., when he (the applicant) had left his house. 11.     According to an official record ( записник за задржување на лице ) of the Ministry of the Interior, a copy of which was included in the file, at 12.30 a.m. on 16 August 2005 the applicant, who had no previous criminal record, was arrested near a department store in a suburb of Skopje by R.J. and P.M., police officers. The record stated the following reasons for his arrest: “(since the applicant) was not in possession of any identification document and his suspicious movement in the vicinity of buildings which are targets for criminal offences ( објекти кои се цел на извршување на кривично дело ).” 12.     At 12.45 a.m. he was taken to a police station, where he remained until 7 p.m. that day. As stated in the record, the applicant was informed about his rights; he waived the right to be represented by a lawyer; he had no visible injuries, nor were there any signs of illness, alcohol or drug addiction. The applicant signed all four pages of the record separately. 13.     At 7 p.m. on 16 August 2005 the applicant was brought before the investigating judge under suspicion of having been involved in the incident of 15 July 2005. According to the court record of that date, which was duly signed by the applicant, he understood the charges against him; he had sufficient command of Macedonian; he had waived the right to an interpreter; and he had stated that he would testify in the absence of a lawyer. In the presence of the investigating judge and a public prosecutor, the applicant stated, inter alia : “... (referring to the request for investigation) it is true that at 11.15 p.m. on 15 July 2005 I placed an explosive device, namely a round anti-tank mine, together with a fuse and a detonator, in the western part of the courtyard of a police station, B.P... I placed the explosive device, lit the fuse with a lighter, and immediately ran home ... R.S. gave me this explosive ... F.R. was with me all the time ... he was also with me when R.S. gave me the anti-tank device ... I would like to underline that it was a slow-burning fuse which was six to seven metres long; it took a long time to burn and to detonate the device ... I would also like to note that F.R. knew that I was going to place this anti-tank device in B.P. police station. I told him that after we had obtained the device from R.S ... F.R and I agreed to a proposal by R.S. (that we place the device in front of a police station) and went towards Skopje by taxi ... I borrowed an old car from neighbour B., telling him that I wanted to drive around. He lent me the car, which was not registered, and I (with F.R.) took the device and placed it on the floor behind the driver’s seat ... At 11.15 p.m. I left home and walked to this car; I took the anti-tank device ... and carried it as far as the B.P. police station, as I have described above, and then I detonated (the device). Some time after 10 pm. F.R. had called me to arrange to go and set up the device. Indeed, F.R. arrived ... and we both went to the car; we took the device together and we walked towards the B.P. police station. I was carrying the bag with the device. When I went into the police station F.R. left the scene: I do not know where he went. I went to the back of the police station and placed the device. Regarding weapons found in my house on the occasion of a search carried out by the police on 16   August 2005, I had in my possession a semi-automatic weapon with nine bullets; I do not know anything about the ten explosive items, the fuse or the detonator. I had stolen the semi-automatic weapon and the bullets... five days before the explosion in the B.P. police station... I was not carrying the weapon when I placed the device, and the phone that I had in my possession was switched off.” 14.     On that day the investigating judge delivered several decisions, by means of which he appointed D.N., a lawyer, to represent the applicant; found of his own motion that the applicant’s detention had been lawful; opened an investigation against the applicant, F.R. and R.S. (the latter was from Kosovo) [1] ; he also ordered that they be detained on remand for thirty days. All the decisions contained an instruction on legal remedies. They were served on the applicant the same day. They were delivered to his lawyer the next day. No appeal was submitted against any of these decisions. B.     The events of 19 August 2005 1.     The applicant’s depositions taken by the investigating judge 15.     On 19 August 2005, on the occasion of a regular visit of a judge responsible for the execution of sentences to Skopje detention centre, the applicant asked to give evidence before the investigating judge. On the same day, the investigating judge heard oral evidence from the applicant in the presence of the court-appointed lawyer and the public prosecutor. As indicated in the transcript of the hearing of that date, signed by the applicant, he stated, inter alia : “I called you because on 16 August 2005 I was beaten and intimidated by the police to force me to testify. I was under duress to testify and threatened with being killed after leaving the prison. All the names they mentioned are unknown to me. I know nothing about the case of which I am accused. I have never been in conflict with the police and I have no idea what a bomb is. Regarding the home search, this is false evidence. There were no weapons or explosives there. That’s all. I agree to be represented by the court-appointed lawyer who is present at the moment. I would like to say that I have not been placed under any pressure by the court. I was just afraid and in a panic due to my previous stay in the police station. Actually, I was afraid when giving the statement ... I must say that everything I said on 16 August 2005 before the judge I was told to say by the police, and was put under strong pressure to do so. All the charges against me are false. I did not commit that crime.” 16.     Asked by the public prosecutor to explain why he had not told the investigating judge previously that he had been placed under pressure and beaten by the police, the applicant stated: “They did beat me, and I was under strong pressure not to tell anything to the judge.” 17.     He further stated: “They were beating me all the time while I was at the police ( додека бев во полиција ). I had (visible) injuries, but I could not say anything to the judge, as the police had told me not to.” 18.     The investigating judge then requested the applicant to take off his clothes and show the injuries he had. As noted in the transcript, the investigating judge described the injuries as follows: “A yellow-brown bruise on the left upper arm, 7 cm long, in an irregular triangle shape; a dark-red bruise can be seen on the left buttock, 15 cm long, with an irregular rectangular shape. The accused complained of severe pain in his feet, but the court cannot see any injury there ... Light-yellow bruises on both left and right thighs, 15   cm long with an irregular oval shape. No other injuries can be seen.” 2.     Expert examination of the applicant’s injuries 19.     On the same day the investigating judge ordered an immediate expert examination of the applicant to determine the type, origin and date of the injuries. 20.     At 5 p.m. on that day two experts (Z.C. and G.P.) of the Forensic Institute ( Институт за Судска Медицина ) examined the applicant in the detention centre. In a detailed expert report dated 19 August 2005, the experts noted bruises (twenty-seven in number) on the applicant’s back, chest, stomach, both arms and legs and the left buttock (no injuries were noted on the applicant’s feet). According to the report, the bruises were mostly green and violet in colour. The report further explained that after seven days a bruise became green, and after two weeks yellow. It went on to state that: “Having regard to (the applicant’s) statement that he had sustained the injuries while he was detained in the police station on 16 August 2005, we can say that, given the noted characteristics of the (applicant’s) injuries, especially their greenish colour, they (the injuries) could not have been inflicted on 16   August 2005. This is because only three days have passed between then and 19 August 2005, the date of the medical examination, and bruises could not acquire such a greenish colour in only three days. More precisely, the injuries noted during the examination are older, and date from at least seven days before the examination. Given their characteristics, the bruises are mostly external ( површински ), except in the area of the left buttock, where there is more intensive bruising.” 21.     The medical report concluded that the injuries sustained by the applicant had been inflicted by a “blunt dynamic force”. As regards the injuries to the applicant’s arms, the experts stated that they were the result of pressure exerted by parts of a body, including hands. While they could not determine the exact means by which the remaining injuries had been inflicted, they nevertheless specified that they had been caused by beatings. The injuries were to be regarded as bodily injuries. C.     Criminal proceedings against the applicant 22.     On 9 September 2005 the public prosecutor lodged an indictment against the applicant and F.R. on terrorism charges. On 26   September 2005 an indictment on the same charges was lodged against R.S. 1.     Trial court hearings and depositions of the applicant and witnesses 23.     At a hearing held on 8 November 2005 the trial court decided to consider both indictments in one set of proceedings. According to depositions taken on that date, the applicant, who was represented by a lawyer of his own choosing, stated, inter alia, that: “The accusations described in the indictment, which I contest, are wrong. At about 10.45 p.m. on 12 August 2005, 300 metres in front of my house ... members of special (police) forces jumped on my back and put me in a car ... they took me to a forest, I do not know exactly where ... When they abducted me, there were fourteen or fifteen of them ... In the forest there was a change of driver, and they hooded me and drove me far away in a different direction. We arrived in a house, where they unhooded me; it was a luxurious house. I was told to sit on a chair; uniformed people wearing masks and others in plain clothes arrived. They asked me if I knew why I had been brought there, to which I replied that I had not done anything wrong. They started insulting me ... four people started beating me with plastic bottles and a rubber tube. I stayed in the house for three days. During that time, while my hands and legs were handcuffed, I was held under water in a swimming pool. A big man was trying to force me to confess about the police station, to which I replied ‘to confess what about the police station?’. When they took me out of the pool, other people continued beating me. They ordered me to admit that I had placed the bomb in the B.P. police station. I told them that I had not done that ... they also brought a dog into the house. The dog did nothing to me. They held me under water in the pool three or four more times ... I believe that we were in Veles ... The same uniformed men, who wore masks, brought me [near the department store in Skopje, see paragraph 11 above] and told me to go home. There were other people around. I was wet and could not walk. Men in plain clothes without uniforms or masks handcuffed me and took me to K. police station. They slapped me twice and started interrogating me about the bomb in B.P. police station. I told them that I knew nothing ... They asked me if I knew R.S. and F.R., and I said that I did not know them. I stayed in K. police station from 15 August to the night of 16 August, when they brought me before the investigating judge. I note that while I was in the house in Veles I was given a blank paper which I had to sign because they had beaten me. In Veles I think I signed three blank papers and I’m sure that I saw those papers in the police station changing hands between police officers. The investigating judge also showed them to me. When the judge had them they were no longer blank, but I don’t remember what was written on them. In Veles I was told to say ‘admit that you placed the bomb and we will let you go, we will take you home’. On 16 August 2005 ... I could not tell the investigating judge that police officers had threatened me, because they had said they would kill my family. What I said to the investigating judge on 16 August 2005 was what I had been told to say by the police officers in Veles. What I said to the investigating judge was invented by the police officers ... I want to say that I was afraid because while in Veles I heard screams and voices saying ‘we caught his father’, so I was convinced that they had captured and tortured my father. I was further told by the police that they had apprehended and taken my father to P. police station, that they had found weapons in my house, and that my father had admitted that they belonged to him. That was a stratagem of the police.” 24.     The applicant further denied that he knew F.R. He said: “This is the first time I have seen him. I do not know him; I do not know where he lives, I know nothing about him. I do not know R.S. nor have I ever heard about him ...” 25.     He further stated: “On 16 August 2005 the investigating judge asked me about weapons, a gun, and some missiles. I was shocked. The investigating judge told me that all those items had been found in my house. I saw the certificate regarding items which had been seized. I do not know who signed it ... (after the certificate was shown to him): the investigating judge did not show this certificate to me. I saw it then for the first time. The signature on it does not belong to my father. The items that the judge read aloud from the certificate had not been found in my house ... [The accused was shown a note referring to Greater Albania and he said]: Maybe I wrote that, I do not remember. Maybe someone from the school wrote it. It was found in my house. I drew it, it was a game. The words that are on the map, I am confused; the words 2010 Jihad, Rida; the interpreter says that the following is written on the map: Greater Albania, Jihad, Ilirida State, Allah Aqbar ... maybe I found this map and maybe I drew it. I do not know what that map means, it was a game ...” 26.     The applicant denied that he had spoken on his mobile phone with F.R. and R.S. His phone had been seized by the police while he was in Veles. He confirmed that on 15 July 2005 he had been in possession of his mobile phone and denied that R.S. had called him that day. He further stated: “... that day (15 July 2005) ... when I was sitting with my friends, we heard an explosion. Everyone went outside to see what had happened. I had some visitors. Someone said a bridge had collapsed, later someone said that a missile had been launched against B.P. police station ... At 11 p.m., the time of the explosion, I was in my neighbourhood. When the explosion happened, I did not have my mobile phone - it was charging. When I arrived home, I saw that there were no missed calls.” 27.     Asked by the public prosecutor why he had not revealed, during his examination on 19 August 2005, that he had been abducted on 12   August   2005 and about the subsequent sequence of events, the applicant stated:   “I did not tell the investigating judge, because I was told by police officers in Veles that I should not say anything. What I said today, I also said on 19   August 2005, but the judge did not note it ... I signed the record (of 19 August 2005), but I did not read it. I do not know why the judge did not note down the whole event in Veles and then in K. police station ...” 28.     The applicant further named four individuals, including a certain A.A. and S.A., with whom he had allegedly been at the critical time on 15   July 2005. In this connection he asked the court to examine those witnesses. 29.     After the court read out his statement of 16 August 2005 given in the pre-trial proceedings, the applicant confirmed the part of that statement indicating that he had been threatened by the Intelligence Service to force him to make the statement. 30.     The applicant’s father stated that the police had searched his house in his absence and that he had been forced to sign the search record and the certificate of seized objects. He confirmed that the map of Greater Albania belonged to the applicant. Lastly, he stated that on 15 July 2005, at the time of the explosion, the applicant had been in the house. 31.     At a hearing of 29 November 2005, the applicant was shown the map of Greater Albania, which the applicant confirmed that he had found at his school. He was further shown photographs of himself wearing a military uniform and carrying a machine gun. In this connection the applicant stated that the photographs had been taken on the occasion of a religious holiday when it had been possible, for a certain price, to be photographed wearing such a uniform. 32.     The trial court also heard oral evidence by A.A. and S.A. A.A. stated, inter alia : “On 15 July 2005, as on any other night, we met friends outside our doors, because it was very hot. That night [the applicant] was with us ... That night (the following were present) I, S., M.J., as well as A. ... At about 11 p.m. we were outside. At 11.20 p.m. or 11.30 p.m. we were all outside, including S.A. I want to say that many other people were there as well. Then, there was an explosion, everybody went out, we did not know what was going on. At the time of the explosion, [the applicant] was with us ... Ten minutes later someone came out of the house saying he had seen on television that a bomb had exploded at B.P. police station. We stayed there talking. [The applicant] was there as well. On 12 August 2005 we noticed that [the applicant] was absent. He was not there on the 13 th either. On 13 August 2005 [the applicant’s] father told us that [the applicant] had been arrested. There were rumours that he had been arrested in connection with the explosion at the police station. That is why I agreed to testify as a witness, to say that [the applicant] did not do it. No one asked me to testify. I volunteered to do it ... I gave a list of everyone who was there that night with [the applicant] to [the applicant’s] father. I gave him that list after [the applicant] had been arrested ... We wanted to vouch that [the applicant] had been with us and that he had not done it.” 33.     On being asked by the public prosecutor how he remembered that the applicant had not been there on 12 August 2005, A.A. said: “Since [the applicant] was normally there every night and was not there that night, his friends were wondering where he was; his friends noticed his absence; I learned about it from them.” 34.     S.A. also confirmed that at the critical time on 15 July 2005 the applicant had been outside his house talking with other people. He stated, inter alia : “That night [the applicant] was with us; he stayed out other nights as well, but I cannot say whether it was every night, because I go out only some nights ... I cannot say exactly whether it was 11 p.m. or 11.15 p.m. when we heard a very loud explosion ... We were standing in front of [the applicant’s] house after midnight, until 1 a.m. ... (the applicant’s) father asked me to testify as a witness... He asked me if I would like to testify in court that (the applicant) had been with us that night; I agreed.” 35.     On 27 December 2005 Z.C., the expert doctor who had carried out and signed the medical report regarding the applicant’s injuries of 19   August 2005 (see paragraph 20 above), gave oral evidence before the trial court in the presence of the accused and their representatives. He explained the recovery process of a bruise and its colour changes. He confirmed the veracity of the written report and that the applicant’s injuries had been inflicted at least seven days (or two to three days more than that) before the date of examination. 36.     The applicant’s lawyer stated: “I do not contest the expert report regarding the injuries specified therein and their colour.” 37.     At a hearing on 12 January 2006 the public prosecutor made the charge specific, and also accused the applicant and F.R. of trafficking in arms. 2.     The trial court’s judgment 38.     On 17 January 2006 the trial court convicted the applicant, F.R. and R.S. ( in absentia ) and sentenced them to eleven, ten and twelve years’ imprisonment respectively. The applicant was found guilty of terrorism and trafficking in arms under Articles 313 and 396 of the Criminal Code (see paragraphs 50 and 51 below). The court further ordered confiscation of the semi-automatic weapon, nine bullets and ten explosive items from the applicant. The convicts were also ordered to compensate for the damage sustained. An indefinite expulsion order ( протерување странец од земјата засекогаш ) was issued in respect of R.S. The court established that the applicant and F.R., together with R.S., were responsible for the explosion of 15 July 2005 in the B.P. police station, the aim of which was to endanger the constitutional order and public safety. 39.     In the judgment, which runs to thirty-one pages, the court reproduced and analysed the statements that the applicant had given in the pre-trial proceedings (16 and 19 August 2005) and at the trial (8   November   2005), as well as the medical report dated 19   August 2005 and the oral evidence of the expert of 27 December 2005. Noting that the applicant’s statements were inconsistent, the court gave weight to his confession statement of 16 August 2005, finding that it contained a clear, complete and logical description of the events of the critical date. It was given in accordance with the law: the applicant had been informed of his rights, and he had read the written transcript of the court hearing and had signed it. It held that that statement was consistent and reliable, because the applicant had given a chronological description of the events; he had also given a detailed description of the device, the place and the means by which he had detonated it, which corresponded to the experts’ reports regarding the incident. The statement of 16 August 2005 was also corroborated with a detailed list of calls on the mobile phones confiscated from the convicted individuals, which confirmed that there had been intense communication between them before and after the incident. 40.     The court further established that in the statement of 19 August 2005 the applicant had retracted his confession of 16 August 2005, which he had stated had been given under duress, namely that he had been beaten on that date by police while detained in the police station. On the basis of that testimony, the investigating judge had ordered an expert examination of the applicant. The experts, relying on medical science and practice, had established that the applicant’s injuries had been inflicted at least seven days before the date of the examination (19 August 2005). Accordingly, the injuries had not been inflicted on 16 August 2005 when he had been arrested and detained; they had therefore not been inflicted by the police. 41.     The court went on to say that after the expert examination the applicant had concocted another version of the events he had presented in his statement of 8 November 2005. In that statement the applicant had given another description of events, namely that he had not been detained on 16   August 2005 and beaten up in the police station, but that on 12   August 2005 the police had abducted and detained him in a luxurious house in Veles; that he had been held under water in a swimming pool; tied up; and beaten, to make him confess to the crime. The court held that nothing suggested, as implied by the defence, that there had been two periods of detention, the first unlawful (12-16 August) and the second (16   August 2005), lawful. The court held, referring to the decision of the investigating judge (see paragraph 14 above), that the applicant had been detained on 16   August 2005 in accordance with the law. 42.     It further found that no evidence had been presented that the applicant had been arrested by the police on 12 August 2005 and ill-treated in a house in Veles. That version of events, according to the court, was fictional and invented in order to match the date when the injuries had been inflicted, as established in the expert report. The court held that the applicant’s statements of 19 August and 8 November 2005 were inconsistent and implausible. In his testimony of 19 August 2005 the applicant had made no comment as regards his alleged abduction on 12   August 2005 and interrogation in Veles. Contrary to the applicant’s argument that he had been scared and confused when he had given his confession statement on 16   August 2005, the court record of his questioning of that date suggested no disorder or lack of capacity for rational perception. Had the investigating judge noticed any indication of unsafety, fear, panic or lack of capacity on the part of the applicant, he would have terminated the questioning. 43.     Lastly, the court concluded that the applicant’s confession statement of 16 August 2005 coincided with the motives for committing the crime and the intention to provoke fear and unsafety. The drawing of the map of Greater Albania and photographs of himself wearing military uniform and carrying weapons found in the applicant’s possession confirmed his political determination to create an imaginary, non-existent entity by 2010 through jihad. The court examined the evidence produced by A.A. and S.A., but dismissed it as unreliable, for the following reasons: the witnesses were neighbours of the applicant; the applicant’s house was in the immediate vicinity of the B.P. police station where the explosive had been placed, which had allowed him to leave the scene without being noticed; they had been instructed to provide alibis, but their statements were incoherent. 3.     Proceedings before Skopje Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court 44.     The applicant appealed against the judgment to the Skopje Court of Appeal. He submitted, inter alia, that he had been convicted on the basis of unlawfully obtained evidence, namely his testimony of 16   August 2005, which had been given under duress. That the applicant had been subjected to police brutality was confirmed by his injuries described in the expert report of 19 August 2005. Besides that medical evidence and his clear description of events as to what had happened between 12 and 16   August 2005, he could not produce any other evidence to support his allegations of abduction and ill-treatment. He further complained that he had not been legally represented when he had given the statement of 16   August 2005, notwithstanding that legal representation was obligatory. Lastly, he contested the lawfulness of the search of his father’s house. 45.     At a public session held on 2 June 2006, Skopje Court of Appeal, sitting in a five-judge panel, upheld the trial court’s judgment and dismissed the applicant’s appeal. The court stated: “The complaints (that the applicant’s conviction had been based on his confession statement given under duress) were the subject of a complete and careful review by the adjudicating panel, which found them unsubstantiated. The trial court did not commit a substantive violation of procedural rules ... since there had been no evidence that (the applicant’s) statement of 16 August 2005 before the investigating judge had been given under duress; ill-treatment; physical assault; or threats. That this statement was lawful was explained by the trial court in detail (on ten pages)... The trial court, after examining all three statements of (the applicant), gave weight to his statement of 16 August 2005 given before the investigating judge, as lawfully obtained and reliable evidence. The statement of 16 August 2005 is clear; it provides a reasonable description of the entire incident; it gives a chronological account of all details of the manner and place he had met the other two co-defendants; of all activities and preparations pre-dating the incident; of the means by which the crime had been committed; also a description of the device; the length of the fuse; the role of the co-defendants R.S. and F.R.... Details regarding the place where the device had been placed, which could have been known to the applicant as the perpetrator of the crime, matched the on-site examination report; there were also photographs, as well as the expert reports regarding the nature and description of the explosive device and the place where it had been placed... (The applicant) gave his testimony of 16   August 2005 before the investigating judge, the public prosecutor and a court interpreter, without the presence of the police; he was advised of all his rights under the Criminal Proceedings Act, including the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney; which (the applicant) waived. That he confessed to the crimes was not the result of external pressure or threats, but an act of acceptance and remorse for the unlawful actions.” 46.     As regards the right of the applicant to be legally represented at his questioning before the investigating judge on 16 August 2005, the court held that notwithstanding that he had been informed of his right to mount a defence, including the right to an attorney, he had clearly stated that he would give his testimony without a lawyer. He did not mention to the investigating judge that he was in any particular mental state or that he was otherwise unfit to testify. After the investigating judge had ordered the applicant’s pre-trial detention, a court-appointed lawyer was appointed (see paragraph 14 above). That had been done in compliance with section 66 of the Criminal Proceedings Act (see paragraph 53 below). The search warrants had been issued, and the search records had been duly signed by the applicant’s father and the attending witnesses who had attested to the lawfulness of the search carried out in the house of the applicant’s father (see paragraphs 7 and 8 above). 47.     The applicant and F.R. appealed against these judgments by means of a request for extraordinary review of a final judgment, which the Supreme Court, with a judgment of 14 February 2007, allowed in part and dismissed the indictment regarding trafficking in arms, which, as found by the Supreme Court, had not been submitted in accordance with the law. The court upheld the lower courts’ judgments in the remaining part and dismissed the applicant’s complaints that his conviction had been based on unlawfully obtained evidence (the statement of 16 August 2005) given allegedly under duress. The court ruled that the lower courts had examined, but nevertheless dismissed, that complaint, providing sufficient reasons for their judgments. The court concluded that the applicant’s conviction had not been based solely on his testimony of 16 August 2005. It rested also on other documentary and verbal evidence, which had been communicated to the defence. D.     Criminal proceedings on account of alleged ill-treatment of the applicant 48.     On 7 March 2007 the applicant lodged with the public prosecutor’s office a criminal complaint in which he alleged that he had been subjected to police brutality. In the complaint the applicant outlined his statements given on 16 and 19 August and 8 November 2005, as well as the expert report regarding his injuries admitted in evidence in the criminal proceedings against him. He alleged that an unidentified perpetrator had tortured him. He attached a copy of the medical expert report and the court record of 19   August 2005, as well as a copy of the trial court’s judgment. 49.     As no action was taken regarding his criminal complaint, on 25   May   2010 the applicant approached the public prosecutor’s office, seeking that measures be taken to bring those responsible to justice, but he received no reply from the public prosecutor. II.     RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW A.     Criminal Code 50.     Article 313 punishes terrorism and provides for at least three years’ imprisonment. 51.     Article 396 punishes illegal trafficking in arms and provides for up to three years’ imprisonment. An aggravated crime is punished with a prison sentence of up to ten years. B.     Criminal Proceedings Act 1997 52.     Section 15(2) of the Criminal Proceedings Act 1997, valid at the time, provided that unlawfully obtained evidence, as well as evidence obtained in violation of human rights and freedoms, could not be used in court, and a judicial judgment could not be based on such evidence. 53.     Section 66(1) of the Act provided that an accused who was deaf, mute or otherwise unfit to defend him(her)self successfully, or if he or she was charged with a crime for which life imprisonment was prescribed, must be represented by a lawyer at the first examination. Under subsection 2 of this paragraph, an accused who had been remanded in custody must be represented by a lawyer while he or she was in detention. 54.     Section 210(7), (8) and (9) of the Act provided that no force or threat could be used against an accused to obtain a confession or statement. The accused could be examined without a lawyer if he or she had explicitly waived that right and defence was not obligatory. A court judgment could not be based on an accused’s statement given contrary to sub-sections 7 and   8 or if the accused’s statement regarding the right to a lawyer was not set out in a court record. 55.     Under section 392(1)7 of the Criminal Proceedings Act, as amended on 22 October 2004, a case may be reopened if the European Court of Human Rights has given a final judgment finding a violation of the human rights or freedoms. The same provision is provided for in section 449(1)6 of the Criminal Proceedings Act, which entered into force in 2010 and became applicable on 1 December 2013. III.     RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL MATERIALS A.     United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 56.     The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, as adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1984 (resolution 39/46), provides, inter alia : Article 15 “Each State Party shall ensure that any statement which is established to have been made as a result of torture shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings, except against a person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was made.” B.     Report to the Government of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” on the visit to “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 12 to 19 July 2004, Strasbourg, 15   November 2006 57.     The relevant parts of the Report read as follows: “i. the case of A.A. 19.     On 10 June 2003 A.A. was summoned to the Kumanovo Police Station for an official talk ... it has been confirmed that he was detained as from 10 am on 10   June   2003 ... The decision to remand A.A. in custody, which was dated 12   June   2003, expressly ordered that the remand imprisonment commence as from the day prior to the date of the decision (i.e., as from 11 June 2003) ... On 20 June 2003, representatives of the Ombudsman’s office visited A.A. in Skopje Prison, following allegations made by the latter of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials and incommunicado detention during the four-day period from 8 to 12 June 2003. The Ombudsman’s representatives observed the injuries displayed by A.A. and set out their conclusions concerning the case in a written document, which was also included in the court file. Their conclusions essentially confirmed A.A.’s allegations of ill-treatment and incommunicado detention during the above-mentioned period ... At various stages during his trial, A.A. and his lawyers stated that he was abducted in Kumanovo some days prior to 10 June 2003 by a group of persons thought to be UBK officers; the date cited most consistently was 8 June. According to the defendant, the officers - some of whom were masked - placed him in an automobile with no license plates, covered his head with a black bag, and then drove him to a house in a countryside location unknown to him, where he was punched, kicked, and beaten with baseball bats and metal rods and burned with a heated metal object in order to extract a confession. The alleged ill-treatment continued over several days, in different places (villas or cottages) in the countryside; he was forced to memorise a statement to be repeated to the investigating judge, before whom he was finally brought on 12 June 2003... 22.     The judge who conducted A.A.’s trial indicated to the delegation that "nothing supported [A.A.’s] allegations" which, as he pointed out, were only first made at trial. Because those allegations had not been made at the defendant’s first appearance before the investigating judge, he considered that they could not be followed up during the phase of the trial ... ii. the case of R.B. 24.     The case of R.B. contains elements which are strikingly similar to the case of A.A. According to information provided to a Commission of the Ministry of the Interior by R.B., he was abducted at 10 am on 23 May 2003 near Kumanovo Police Station by four or five persons who handcuffed him, covered his head with his jacket, and forced him into a vehicle. After a drive of some 2.5 hours, the party arrived at a certain unspecified building, where R.B. was held for five days. During that period, he was ‘ill-treated and beaten on the body with thick wooden sticks’. 26.     The delegation discussed the case of R.B. as well as the report of the Commission of the Ministry of the Interior with judges from the Kumanovo Basic Court and the Prosecutor-General. It is clear from those discussions that judicial and prosecutorial authorities were aware of R.B.’s allegations relating to the period between 23 and 29 May 2003 ... However, no action was taken to investigate R.B.’s allegations and other information, even though there were indications of: ill-treatment by law enforcement officials, thought to be UBK officers; incommunicado detention in a clandestine location ...” 43.     The information gathered during the July 2004 visit, including as regards reports of incommunicado detention in clandestine locations, continues to raise questions regarding the compliance of UBK officers with the general legal and regulatory framework, despite assurances to the contrary given by the national authorities.” C.     Report to the Government of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” on the visit to “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), from 15 to 26 May 2006, Strasbourg, 13   February 2008 58.     The relevant parts of the Report read as follows: “2. Torture and other forms of ill-treatment 13.     For many of the persons, the time of the alleged ill-treatment pre-dated the delegation’s visit by several weeks and any marks which might have been caused by the ill-treatment alleged would almost certainly have healed in the meantime. However, in a number of cases, the delegation’s doctors gathered medical evidence consistent with the allegations of ill-treatment either through an examination of the persons concerned or by consulting relevant medical records ... iii)     A third case concerns two persons (F.R. and F.H.) suspected at the time of having carried out the bombing of Bit Pazar Police Station on 15 July 2005. Both men alleged to have been held in unauthorised places of detention, during which time they claimed to have been severely ill-treated (see paragraph 32 in Section B below), before being transferred to pol