CEDH · CASELAW;JUDGMENTS;CHAMBER;ENG — 22 octobre 2020

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margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:center; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:14pt } .s33165EBA { font-family:Arial; font-size:8pt; vertical-align:super; color:#0069d6 } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s66E9FC38 { font-family:Arial; font-size:8pt; vertical-align:super; color:#000000 } .sF6A12959 { width:33%; height:1px; text-align:left } .s85226119 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; font-size:10pt } .s653E6C45 { font-family:Arial; font-size:6.67pt; vertical-align:super; color:#0069d6 } .s391E78BA { font-family:Arial; background-color:#ffffff } FIFTH SECTION CASE OF BOKHONKO v. GEORGIA (Application no. 6739/11)   JUDGMENT   Art 3 (procedural) • Effective investigation • Allegations of ill-treatment during police strip search • Applicant’s criminal complaint rejected on basis of succinct reasoning, with no investigative steps undertaken • No judicial appeal • Second investigation delayed and not yielding concrete results • Insufficient assessment of allegations during applicant’s criminal trial Art 3 (substantive) • Degrading treatment • Insufficient evidence, in light of no effective investigation Art 6 § 1 (criminal) • Admission and use of evidence obtained as result of alleged ill-treatment • Evidence central to the procedural fairness of the trial • Failure of national courts to properly address ill-treatment allegations also a failure to adequately examine unlawfulness of use of evidence obtained and thus its quality, reliability or accuracy • Post-search judicial review inadequate for challenging authenticity and reliability of evidence Art 6 § 1 (criminal) and Art 6 § 3 (e) • Free assistance of interpreter • Submission by applicant and his lawyers of detailed arguments contesting accusations, demonstrating that applicant sufficiently understood charges against him and material substance upon which they were based • Provision of interpreting services at all principal stages of proceedings   STRASBOURG 22 October 2020 FINAL   22/01/2021   This judgment has become final under Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Bokhonko v. Georgia, The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:   Síofra O’Leary, President,   Gabriele Kucsko-Stadlmayer,   Ganna Yudkivska,   Mārtiņš Mits,   Latif Hüseynov,   Lado Chanturia,   Mattias Guyomar, judges, and Victor Soloveytchik, Section Registrar, Having regard to: the application against Georgia lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a Ukrainian national, Mr Orest Bokhonko (“the applicant”), on 20 January 2011; the decision to give notice to the Georgian Government (“the Government”) of the complaints concerning his alleged ill-treatment and the unfairness of his trial and to declare inadmissible the remainder of the application; the parties’ observations; the decision of the Ukrainian Government, after being informed about the application in view of the applicant’s nationality (Article 36 § 1 of the Convention and Rule 44 of the Rules of Court), to not intervene . Having deliberated in private on 15 September 2020, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date: INTRODUCTION 1.     The case concerns the alleged ill-treatment of the applicant by the police on account of the manner in which he was arrested and strip searched; the alleged failure of the relevant authorities to conduct an investigation in that regard; the alleged unfairness of the criminal proceedings conducted against him owing to the domestic courts’ use of evidence obtained as a result of the alleged ill-treatment and/or planted evidence; and the failure to provide him with adequate interpreting services throughout the criminal proceedings. The applicant relied on Articles 3 and 6 §§ 1 and 3 (e) of the Convention. THE FACTS 2.     The applicant was born in Ukraine and is currently detained in Georgia. He was represented by a number of lawyers, most recently Ms   N.   Londaridze, a lawyer practising in Tbilisi. 3.     The Georgian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr L. Meskhoradze, succeeded by Mr B. Dzamashvili, both of the Ministry of Justice. 4.     The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows. Arrest and search 5.     On 27 September 2008 K.K., an officer of the regional unit of the Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti police reported to the head of his unit that he had received operational information about a drug offence. According to the report: “.. the regional unit of the Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti police has received operational information [that] Mr Orest Bokhonko, residing in Kyiv, Ukraine, has taken a flight from Kyiv to Georgia, namely Tbilisi, and is transporting illegally obtained drugs ... with the intention of [giving them] to a Georgian national, [Z.S.], living at ... in Senaki, Georgia. Therefore, permission [is requested] to conduct investigative measures.” 6.     On the same date a criminal investigation was initiated by the same regional unit under Articles 260 § 1 and 262 § 1 of the Criminal Code of Georgia (unlawful possession and transportation of narcotic substances). A supervising prosecutor instructed that a group of investigators be formed to carry out the required investigative measures. The investigator in charge, G.J., ordered that an interpreter, D.D., be appointed to assist the applicant in the course of the investigative measures. 7 .     According to the official version of events, at 10.15 p.m. the same evening three officers of the Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti police, G.J., G.S., and J.A., arrested the applicant at the exit door of Tbilisi International Airport. According to the relevant arrest and body search report, he was then searched in one of the rooms in the administration building of the airport between 10.20 and 10.45 p.m. by the same three police officers, in the presence of the interpreter D.D. The body search was conducted in urgent circumstances in the absence of a prior judicial warrant. The applicant was informed by the interpreter in Russian of his rights, which included the right to call independent witnesses to attend the search. He chose however to waive this right by making a written note in the search report. The report further stated that he had not shown any resistance, and that one of the items retrieved during the search had been a yellow balloon containing a white substance, extracted from his anus. According to a note made by the interpreter, the applicant refused to countersign the report for unknown reasons. The interpreter additionally noted in Georgian that he had “provided the translation accurately”, indicating his profession and signature. He made a spelling error by writing an unnecessary letter in that note. 8.     After the search the applicant was formally arrested on suspicion of unlawful possession and transportation of narcotic substances, under Articles 260 and 262 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. 9 .     According to the pre-trial statements of the two police officers who arrested and conducted the search, G.S. and J.A., they were acting on the basis of operational information when carrying out the applicant’s arrest at the airport. They stated that a yellow balloon with a transparent plastic bag containing an unlawful substance had been retrieved from the applicant’s anus. An identical statement was given by the interpreter D.D. They all signed the arrest and search report and confirmed that the applicant refused to countersign it for unknown reasons. 10.     The applicant gave a different account of the circumstances surrounding the arrest and search. According to him, he was arrested by several men as he was trying to get into the car of his friend, Z.S., outside the airport. The latter had come to pick him up. He was kicked in the stomach and then taken to one of the rooms at the airport. No explanation was given to him as to the reasons for his arrest. He was then told by one of the officers (later identified as the investigator G.J.) that, according to information obtained by the police, he was transporting drugs to Georgia, which he denied. Subsequently, he was subjected to a body search, and he followed the police’s advice to waive his right to invite attesting witnesses by making a written note in the arrest and search report. His request to get in touch with the Ukrainian Consulate was turned down. He was slapped in the face, forced to strip naked, made to do sit-ups and subjected to an anal inspection by a police officer with a glove on his hand, who tried to penetrate his anus. Nothing was found on him. He was then kept naked for about twenty minutes. The police officers laughed at him and several of them recorded the strip search on their mobile telephones. He attempted to escape several times, with his clothes still removed, but the police officers grabbed him by his hands and, in this way, had him in their grip. He was then repeatedly kicked and subjected to a repeated anal inspection by another officer (later identified as K.K.). He resisted and lost consciousness. When he regained consciousness, he was told that some drugs had been removed from his anus. He replied that they did not belong to him. 11.     The applicant also stated that the interpreter, who had been present from the beginning of the search, had explained to him that if no drugs were found, he would be released. He claimed however that the interpreter had not informed him of his rights or given him any documents translated into Russian. 12.     After the arrest the applicant was transferred to the regional headquarters of the Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti police in Zugdidi. The applicant’s subsequent complaints 13 .     On 28   September 2008 the applicant was placed in a temporary detention facility in Zugdidi. The on-duty detention officer observed that he had a scratch on his right knee. The applicant also complained about pain in his right side and of suffering from dizziness. These complaints and the scratch on his knee were recorded in the logbook of the facility. In the same logbook, the applicant made a written note in Russian stating that the drugs allegedly removed from his body had not belonged to him. Below that note, someone identified as an interpreter, N.K., made a handwritten note stating that she had explained the contents of the document to the applicant in a language he understood. She also translated the applicant’s statement about the drugs not belonging to him into Georgian and added another handwritten note in Georgian stating that the applicant had “no complaints of physical abuse either during his arrest or thereafter.” It is unclear from the case who assigned N.K. as an interpreter for the applicant, or when. 14.     On 28 September 2008 a new interpreter, S.V. was assigned to the applicant’s case. 15.     On 29   September 2008 an ambulance was called to the temporary detention facility. The applicant was examined and found to have bruises on his right side and arterial hypertension (high blood pressure). 16 .     On 30 September 2008 he was transferred to Zugdidi Prison no. 4 (“Prison no.   4”). The case file does not contain a report of the applicant’s visual examination on his arrival at the facility. The prison governor, in a reply of 29 October 2008 to a request by the investigator in charge of the case, simply noted that no injuries had been observed on the applicant during his visual examination. 17 .     On 3 October 2008 the applicant’s lawyer contacted the investigator, claiming that her client was suffering from pain in his chest and had breathing difficulties, and that one of his ribs had most probably been broken during the arrest. She requested a comprehensive medical examination of the applicant. 18 .     On 5 October 2008 the request was dismissed. The applicant was informed that he could be referred to the medical unit of Prison no.   4 for a free examination. 19 .     On 6 October 2008, in relation to the investigation pending against the applicant, a supervising investigator questioned him in the presence of his lawyer and an interpreter. The applicant protested his innocence, claiming that the drugs had been planted by the police. He stated that he had been arrested outside the airport by about ten people as he had been putting his luggage into Z.S.’s car. Without being provided any explanation, he had been asked whether he had drugs on him, which he had denied. He had then been kicked in the stomach and taken to one of the rooms of the airport, where around eight to ten officers had asked him where the drugs were. He said he did not know. When he had asked to get in touch with the Ukrainian Consulate he had been assaulted by several officers. He had then been warned that he would be subjected to a body search and had been introduced to an interpreter, who had explained to him that if no illegal items were found, he would be released. He had then followed the interpreter’s advice to waive his right to invite attesting witnesses by making a written note in the arrest and search report. According to his statement, the police officers had first searched his luggage. He had then been told to strip naked and do sit-ups ten times, which they had recorded on their mobile telephones. Nothing had been found on him. Meanwhile, he had been kept naked for about thirty minutes. Two people had then grabbed him by his hands and dropped him to the ground while several others had assaulted him again. One of the police officers with a glove on his hand had penetrated his anus. They had then made him get up, showed him a yellow item and told him that it belonged to him, which he had denied. When he had asked to see a representative from the Ukrainian Consulate he had been beaten again. Subsequently, one of the officers had suggested that he confess to having brought drugs for Z.S. He had promised him a quick release in return. The applicant however maintained his innocence, claiming that he had come to Georgia in order to attend a wedding. According to his statement, he submitted that the interpreter present during the search had translated a couple of sentences into Russian, but had not given him any written translated documents. He also stated that he would probably recognise the officer who had conducted the anal inspection. 20 .     On 13 October 2008 the applicant’s lawyers complained to the Samegrelo ‑ Upper Svaneti regional prosecutor’s office (“the regional prosecutor’s office”) that the drugs allegedly extracted from the applicant’s body had not belonged to him. They claimed that during the arrest and search their client had been subjected to physical abuse and humiliation; that the strip search had been conducted by unauthorised persons without an expert present, in breach of Articles 325, 350, and 354 of the Criminal Code of Procedure (hereinafter “the CCP”), and that personal unauthorised recordings of the body search had been made on the mobile telephones of several of the officers. Furthermore, the applicant had not been informed in a language he understood of the reasons for his arrest and the content of the documents from the criminal case file. The statutory requirement of Article 76 of the CCP had not been satisfied, given that no Russian translation of the charges had been given to the applicant at the time they had been brought against him, and no attesting witnesses or a lawyer had been present during the search. The defence lawyers also challenged the expertise of the interpreter, owing to the spelling error in the arrest report (see paragraph 6 above). 21 .     As regards the particular circumstances of the search, the defence lawyers maintained that the applicant had first undergone an anal inspection but that nothing unlawful had been found. He had then been left naked for about half an hour, during which time the mocking and humiliation had continued. Subsequently, he had been subjected to another anal inspection and had fainted. When he had regained consciousness, the officers had told him that a certain substance had been extracted from his anus. 22.     Referring to other procedural violations, the defence lawyers also alleged, without giving any details, that the applicant’s right to appeal against the decision on the lawfulness of the search within seventy-two hours had been breached (see in this connection paragraph 31 below). In view of all the above, they requested that the criminal proceedings against the applicant be discontinued and that the officers who had violated his rights during the arrest and search be identified and brought to justice. 23 .     On 17 October 2008 the competent prosecutor issued a decision rejecting the applicant’s request. With respect to the allegations of ill ‑ treatment, the prosecutor referred to the interpreter’s note in the logbook of the facility (see paragraph 13 above), which stated that the applicant had no complaints regarding his injuries, and to the results of the medical examination at Prison no.   4 (see paragraph 16 above). He noted that he did not know where the applicant’s bruises had come from and that he might have self-harmed in detention. The prosecutor also considered that the strip search had been conducted in compliance with the statutory procedures set out in Article 325 of the CCP. He claimed in that connection that the applicant had not been subjected to a body inspection, which required the prior authorisation of a prosecutor. Lastly, according to the prosecutor, the applicant had had access to a lawyer and interpreting services from the time of his arrest. 24 .     On 28 October 2008 the applicant’s lawyers lodged an appeal against the refusal with the Prosecutor General’s Office. Reiterating their initial arguments, they also claimed that the small yellow balloon purportedly found in the applicant’s anus had not been subjected to a forensic examination and that, in the circumstances, it had been impossible to establish whether the drugs found had actually been removed from there. Furthermore, they stressed that the interpreter D.D. had breached his obligation under Articles 100 and 101 of the CCP, as he had not provided the applicant with a word-for-word translation of the arrest and search report or a written translation of the relevant documents from the case file. A copy of the above complaint was also sent to the head of the General Inspectorate at the Ministry of the Interior. According to the case file, no reply was received to the above complaint. 25 .     In the meantime, the applicant’s lawyer asked the director of Zugdidi Prison no. 4 to arrange for a medical examination of the applicant. By a letter of 24 October 2008 she was informed that Prison no. 4 had no medical equipment and that therefore no medical examination would be conducted on its premises.     On 31 October 2008 the applicant wrote to the investigator complaining about pain in the chest area and asking for a medical examination. He was told that he could request a medical examination at the medical wing of Zugdidi Prison no. 4. 26.     On 6, 10 and 24 October 2008 respectively the applicant complained about his situation to the Ukrainian Consulate, the Public Defender of Georgia (“the PDO”) and the President of Georgia. In November and December 2008 his complaints were forwarded to the prosecutor and the trial judge in charge of the case for further action. 27 .     On 18 November 2008 the applicant’s lawyers also lodged a complaint with the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of the Interior against the Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti police officers who had allegedly ill ‑ treated him and violated his procedural rights during the arrest and search, but the complaint was left unanswered. 28 .     On 19 December 2008 the PDO asked the Prosecutor General’s Office to initiate criminal proceedings in connection with the applicant’s allegations of ill-treatment and the serious violation of his procedural rights, however, neither that request nor the above complaints yielded any results. Criminal proceedings against the applicant Pre-trial investigation 29 .     On 28   September 2008 the regional prosecutor’s office lodged an application with the Tbilisi City Court to have the search carried out on 27   September 2008, which it claimed had been urgent, validated. The request indicated the place the applicant had been arrested, the substance found as a result of the search, and the offences the applicant was suspected of. As regards the substance found, it was noted in the report that a “yellow balloon containing a transparent plastic bag with a white substance inside [had been] retrieved from the applicant’s anus”. 30 .     On 29   September 2008 the court examined the request and found that the search had been an urgent measure which had been lawful. It concluded: “... having reviewed the submitted documents, the court considers that the search of Orest Bokhonko’s person should be declared lawful in view of the following circumstances: according to the material in the case file, the investigative measure was conducted in compliance with statutory requirements; thus, there were sufficient grounds and an urgent need to conduct a personal search as Orest Bokhonko could have had an illegal object or substance [on him].” 31 .     It is unclear from the case file which documents the court had at its disposal when deciding on the validity of the search. The procedure was   conducted in writing   and the applicant was not allowed to submit any observations   regarding the circumstances of the search.   An appeal could be brought against the above decision within seventy-two hours of its adoption, pursuant to Article 293 of the CCP. The applicant did not appeal against this decision to the Court of Appeal. 32 .     On the same date a forensic report established that the white substance removed from the applicant’s anus had been 93.3170 grams of methadone. The applicant was formally charged under Articles 260 § 3 (a) and 262 § 4 (a) of the Criminal Code of Georgia (unlawful possession and transportation of a large quantity of drugs) and the charges were interpreted to him by S.V. in the presence of his lawyer. 33.     On 30 September 2008 a trial judge ordered the applicant’s pre-trial detention for two months. That decision was upheld on appeal by the Kutaisi Court of Appeal on 8 October 2008. 34.     Between 29 and 31 October 2008 G.J., the investigator in charge of the applicant’s case (who had also participated in the arrest and search), interviewed G.S., J.A., two of the other police officers involved in the arrest and search and D.D., the interpreter. The two police officers and the interpreter described in identical terms the circumstances of the arrest and search. All three claimed that the applicant had waived his right to request the attendance of attesting witnesses; that he had been informed in a language he understood of the reasons for his arrest and his rights; and that a substance had been retrieved from the applicant’s anus. In addition, G.S. and J.A. stated that they had acted on the basis of operational information that the applicant had been travelling from Kyiv to Tbilisi with drugs on him which he had planned to give to Z.S. 35.     On 10 November 2008 the applicant’s defence lawyers wrote to the investigator complaining that the interpreter, N.K., had made an inaccurate translation of the applicant’s notes (see, in this connection, paragraph 13 above). They also noted that the decision to assign her to the case was not included in the case file and asked the investigator to clarify the matter. 36 .     On 13 November 2008 the prosecutor in charge of the applicant’s case decided to separate his case from that of Z.S. (see paragraph 97 below). The prosecutor concluded that no evidence had been obtained during the investigation to corroborate the existence of a “criminal link” between the applicant and Z.S. 37.     On the same date the applicant’s defence lawyers, reiterating their allegations of serious procedural violations taking place during the arrest and search, requested that the following pieces of evidence be excluded as inadmissible: the arrest and search report, the decision to bring charges, the expert report concerning the substance seized during the search, as well as the decision to assign an interpreter. It appears from the case file that the above application was simply forwarded by the prosecutor to the first ‑ instance judge assigned to the applicant’s case. On the same date the pre-trial investigation was concluded and the case file was sent to the Tbilisi City Court for consideration. According to the bill of indictment, the applicant was charged with aggravated drug offences under Articles 260 §   3   (a) and 262 § 4 (a) of the Criminal Code. The prosecutor notified the applicant of the conclusion of the pre-trial investigation in writing and sent him a Russian translation of the bill of indictment. According to a protocol drawn up and signed by officers of Prison no.   4 on 14 November 2008, the applicant refused delivery. Some months later, at the beginning of the first trial hearing, a copy of the bill of indictment was given to him (see paragraph 38 below). Trial 38 .     On 27 April 2009 the Tbilisi City Court opened the applicant’s trial.   The applicant was given a copy of the bill of indictment and the proceedings were adjourned until 7 May 2009. 39 .     The applicant protested his innocence throughout the proceedings and insisted that the drugs had been planted on him by the police. He also claimed (i) that the strip search, including the anal inspection, had been carried out by an unauthorised officer in the absence of an expert (doctor); (ii) that the yellow balloon which had apparently contained the drugs had disappeared from his case file; (iii) that he had been physically and psychologically ill-treated during the search, and that the manner in which it had been carried out had been humiliating for him; (iv) that no attesting witnesses had been called during the search and no explanation had been given to him as to the reasons for his arrest; (v) that he had not been provided with a professional interpreter throughout the proceedings, given the spelling error made by the interpreter D.D. in the arrest report and the lack of a word-for-word translation of the arrest and search report; and (vi) that he had not been provided with a written translation of his charges and other concluding documents from the criminal case file, in breach of Article 76 of the CCP. In addition, submitting a written statement describing the arrest and search in detail, the applicant requested that all of the arresting police officers, including K.K., G.J., J.A., G.S. and the interpreter D.D., who were not indicated in the list of prosecution witnesses, be questioned. 40.     On account of the various procedural irregularities mentioned above, the applicant requested, in accordance with Article 110 and 111 of the CCP, that the trial court exclude the following from the case file as inadmissible evidence: the body search report, material evidence, expert report and pre ‑ trial statements of police officers J.A., G.S., and the interpreter.   In this connection, the prosecutor submitted written observations and asked the trial court to dismiss the applicant’s request. In particular, the prosecutor argued that the search had been conducted in compliance with Article 325 §   4 of the CCP, which provided that body searches followed by the removal of clothing had to be conducted by an official of the same sex (and expert, if called) and that the drugs had been removed without any penetration of his anus. Immediately after the arrest the applicant had been informed by an interpreter of his rights, which included the right to call attesting witnesses. This was proved by the applicant’s written note in the arrest and search report. The applicant had been provided with an interpreter from the initial stage of the criminal proceedings, and a Russian translation of the bill of indictment had been sent to him, but he had refused delivery. With respect to the yellow balloon, the prosecutor submitted that, despite the fact that the balloon had not been sealed (a procedural shortcoming which had led to disciplinary action being taken against the investigator responsible), it was apparent that the drugs had been retrieved from the applicant’s body, which was supported by several pieces of strong corroborated evidence in the case file. Furthermore, the prosecutor rejected the applicant’s ill-treatment allegations, given that the latter had had no complaints with respect to the minor injuries observed during his initial medical examination. 41 .     On an unspecified date the first-instance court judge dismissed the applicant’s inadmissibility request in its entirety. She concluded that the strip search had been carried out by an authorised police officer in line with the requirements of Article 325 of the CCP. She did not address the applicant’s related argument that he had been subjected to an anal inspection. With regard to the disappearance of the yellow balloon, she dismissed his allegation that the material evidence had been altered, given that the seal had been intact. She further dismissed his ill-treatment allegation as unsubstantiated, concluding that he had failed to produce valid evidence showing that the search had been conducted using violence, threats and intimidation. The judge also found that there were no legal grounds to exclude the witness statements in question from the case file. 42.     On 7 and 18 May 2009 police officers G.S., G.J. and J.A. were questioned in court in the presence of the applicant and his defence counsel. The police officers confirmed the official version of events and denied the applicant’s allegations. In particular, they stated that the applicant had been arrested on the basis of operational information at the exit door of the airport when he had met Z.S., who had been waiting for him at the airport. He had then been informed of his rights with the assistance of an interpreter and subjected to a body search in one of the rooms of the airport. Before being searched, the applicant had been invited to call attesting witnesses, but he had waived this right. He had also been asked whether he had any illegal items on him, which he had denied. He had then been instructed to strip naked and to do sit-ups, which he had agreed to do. During one of the sit-ups, a small yellow balloon with a black string had emerged from his anus. G.S had then removed it by pulling the black string, without any penetration. In the yellow balloon, a transparent plastic bag containing methadone had been found, which had been seized and sealed on the spot. As for the yellow balloon, it had not been sealed and had been left at the airport because it had been dirty and could have contaminated the drugs. They maintained that the applicant had not shown any resistance during the arrest or search, and that the yellow balloon had almost been out, so there had been no need to call a doctor. They further stated that the strip search had not been recorded and that the applicant had not been verbally insulted or otherwise ridiculed by them. 43.     On 18 May 2009, at the applicant’s request, officer K.K. was questioned in court. He confirmed that he had drawn up the operational information report stating that the applicant was transporting drugs from Kyiv to Tbilisi. In reply to a concrete question, he said that he had drawn up the operational information. He also said that he did not remember whether there had been any covert telephone recording. He admitted that he had been one of the police officers involved in the applicant’s arrest, but denied participating in the body search because he had been with another arrested person, Z.S. He stated that he had seen the drugs when the officers had been sealing them. He maintained that the police officers had not abused the applicant. 44 .     On the same date the court also heard evidence from the interpreter D.D. regarding the arrest and search. He confirmed his pre-trial statement. In particular, he stated that he had been invited by the investigator to assist in the proceedings and had provided the applicant with interpreting services from the time of his arrest. He confirmed that immediately after the arrest, he had informed the applicant of his rights in Russian. He had also informed the applicant of his rights during the body search procedure, including the right to call attesting witnesses, but the latter had waived this right by making a written note in the search report. He stated that the investigator and three to four police officers had been present during the search and that the applicant had not shown any resistance during the arrest or search and had followed the police’s instructions, one of which had been to strip naked and do sit-ups. During one of the sit-ups he had seen a yellow balloon with a black string emerge from the applicant’s anus, which had been removed. He denied that there had been any kind of abuse or humiliation of the applicant at the hands of the police officers. 45.     The trial court then examined the applicant. Reiterating his allegations, he pointed out that the police officers had not mentioned in any of the pre-trial statements the black string which G.J. had allegedly pulled in order to remove the yellow balloon containing the drugs from his anus. This discrepancy confirmed, in his view, the veracity of his version of events. He further reiterated his previous statements, noting that he had been consistent in his allegations of ill-treatment and planting from the very outset. 46 .     On   18 June 2009 the Tbilisi City Court found the applicant guilty and sentenced him to twenty-three years’ imprisonment. In reaching its verdict, the court had regard to the statements given by the three police officers who had searched the applicant and the interpreter present at the time, as well as the material evidence (drugs) obtained as a result of the relevant search and the expert report. The court dismissed the applicant’s ill ‑ treatment allegations as unsubstantiated. It concluded that he had come up with his version of the arrest and search in order to evade criminal responsibility and that he had failed to provide evidence to corroborate his allegations. It further held that his version was not credible as the minor injuries identified on him after his transfer to the detention centre did not correspond to the scale of violence he had allegedly suffered during his arrest. The court also considered that it did not have sufficient grounds to conclude that the applicant had suffered a violation of his procedural rights; it thus concluded that the drugs had been retrieved from his anus in full compliance with the relevant domestic law. 47 .     On the same date, in a separate decision, the trial judge concluded that the investigator in charge of the case had violated two procedural requirements: firstly, although the applicant had been arrested on 27   September 2008, the Ukrainian Consulate had not been informed of his detention until 3 October 2008, despite the requirement to give notification within five hours. Secondly, the trial judge concluded that it was unclear whether the applicant had been duly served with the decision to bring charges against him in a language he understood. The trial judge ordered that a copy of the decision be sent to the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti police headquarters for further action. 48 .     According to the case file, the operational information that triggered the search was not in the case material available to the trial court. Appeal 49 .     The applicant’s defence counsels appealed against the conviction to the Tbilisi Court of Appeal, arguing that it had been based on planted evidence and that the first-instance court had not drawn objective conclusions. They asked the court to re-examine all the witnesses, namely the arresting police officers and the interpreter. At the same time, they requested that Z.S., who had met the applicant at the airport, be questioned in court. They claimed (i) that the results of the forensic examination of the drugs were invalid, since the yellow balloon had not been tested; (ii) that the strip search had been conducted without an expert (doctor) present, in violation of the relevant provisions of the CCP; (iii) that the urgent search, which had been conducted in the absence of a prior judicial warrant, had been unlawful; (iv) that no explanation had been given to the applicant for his arrest and no independent witnesses had been invited to attend the body search; (v) that the applicant had been physically and verbally abused during the arrest and strip search; (vi) that the methods used during the strip search had constituted inhuman and degrading treatment; and (vii) that the applicant had not been provided with a professional interpreter throughout the proceedings or with a written translation of his charges and other relevant documents from the criminal case file. The defence thus requested that the applicant be acquitted. 50 .     On 26 February 2010 the Tbilisi Court of Appeal upheld the applicant’s conviction. It shared the findings made by the first-instance court and dismissed the applicant’s complaints in their entirety as unsubstantiated. The Court of Appeal considered that the applicant’s guilt had been established on the basis of the arrest and search report, the statements of the arresting officers and the interpreter, the expert report and other evidence in the case file. The court examined the applicant’s request to have the body search report and material evidence obtained as a result declared inadmissible, but decided that they should remain in the file as there was no factual and legal basis for concluding that the drugs had been either planted on him or taken out by illegal methods. The appellate court concluded that the available medical evidence did not support the allegations of physical violence. As to the circumstances in which the strip search was conducted, including the alleged anal inspection, it found the following: “The chamber cannot accept the position of the defence since in this specific case a search of O. Bokhonko’s person took place; [the search] was conducted by persons of the same sex. The law does not require the compulsory attendance of an expert or [that] the search [be conducted] in a specially designated room. ... In this specific case, after O. Bokhonko did five sit-ups at the request of those conducting the search, a yellow balloon with a black string emerged from his anus, [and the balloon] was removed by pulling the black string.” 51 .     On 23 July 2010 the Supreme Court of Georgia dismissed an appeal lodged by the applicant on points of law as inadmissible. Subsequent developments 52 .     On 9 October 2012 the applicant again complained to the PDO concerning his alleged ill-treatment by police officers on 27 September 2008. His complaint was forwarded to the Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia (formerly the Prosecutor General’s Office). On 23 January 2013 the Tbilisi prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into the allegations under Article 332 of the Criminal Code (abuse of power). The case was subsequently transferred to the regional prosecutor’s office. Multiple witnesses were questioned, among them the police officers who had carried out the arrest and search, employees of Tbilisi International Airport who had been on duty on the day of the applicant’s arrest, including security officers working for the Civil Aviation Agency, and border and immigration officers. 53 .     According to the case file, the proceedings are still ongoing. RELEVANT LEGAL FRAMEWORK 54.     The relevant domestic legal provisions concerning the obligation of the authorities to investigate allegations of ill-treatment and the scope of judicial examination in such cases, as in force at the material time, are set out in Mikiashvili v. Georgia (no. 18996/06, § 54, 9 October 2012). 55 .     The relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1998, as in force at the material time, read as follows: “ Article 12. Inviolability of a person, protection of honour and dignity ... 5. It is prohibited to use methods which are dangerous to life or health or which undermine the dignity and honour of participants in the criminal proceedings or others; ... 7. When carrying out an investigative or judicial measure, it is prohibited to use threats, blackmail, torture or other methods of physical or psychological violence ...” Article 13. Inviolability of private life “... 2. [A] search [and/or] seizure ... shall be allowed only by order of a judge or the court. If there is an urgent need as provided for by law ... a search or seizure may be carried out in the absence of a court order, but its lawfulness and reasonableness shall be assessed by a judge within [twenty-four] hours of being presented with the relevant documents. At the same time, the judge shall decide on the admissibility of the evidence obtained as a result of the impugned procedural measure.” Article 76. Rights of the accused “... 2. When charges are brought, the decision to charge [him or her] translated for the accused in his or her mother tongue or any language that he or she understands ...” Article 98. Expert “1. An expert shall assist an investigator, prosecutor or the court in finding and demonstrating evidence. Criminologists, doctors, psychologists, teachers and other persons shall be called as experts when specific knowledge and skills are required.” Article 100. Interpreter “1. An interpreter shall be called when ... (b) the accused... has no or insufficient command of the language of the criminal proceedings. (c) it is necessary to translate a certain text ...” Article 101. Rights and obligations of an interpreter “1. An interpreter is required to appear when called by an investigator, prosecutor or the court; accurately and completely interpret/translate statements and documents; confirm the accuracy of an interpretation/translation by signing the report concerning an investigative measure and transcript of the court hearing in which he or she took part, as well as the accuracy of other procedural documents given to the parties to the criminal proceedings ...” Article 102. Attesting witness “1. An attesting witness shall be called to confirm that a search, seizure or inspection of a crime scene has been carried out, its progress and the results thereof ... Before conducting the above investigative measures, an investigator or prosecutor shall inform [the suspect/accused] ... of his or her right to invite attesting witnesses ... 2. If the suspect/accused avails him or herself of the r