CEDH · CASELAW;COMMUNICATEDCASES;ENG — 9 juillet 2024

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .s379BC09C { margin-top:36pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s10950C61 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:14.2pt; text-align:justify } .s5E1364CA { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:center; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:14pt } .s339D85E6 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:14pt; text-align:center; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .s665E407E { margin-top:66pt; margin-bottom:14pt; text-align:center; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } Published on 29 July 2024   FOURTH SECTION Application no. 21155/22 Matija NIKOLIĆ against Serbia lodged on 1 April 2022 communicated on 9 July 2024 SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE The application concerns, under Article 3 of the Convention, the alleged police ill-treatment of the applicant, who was taken to the police station on 16 November 2012 for questioning about alleged thefts, and the effectiveness of the investigation in response to his complaints about ill-treatment. The applicant, minor at the relevant time, claims that he was beaten in order to confess to the thefts and that, as a result of a kick in the stomach, he had to be taken from the police station to the children’s hospital where he was operated for incarcerated hernia. The applicant’s criminal complaint filed against several police officers on 7 February 2013 was rejected two and a half years later by the Novi Sad Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office for lack of corpus delicti . Following the applicant’s appeal , on 1 December 2015 the Novi Sad High Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered further investigation noting several deficiencies in the investigation. On 19 June 2019 the Novi Sad Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office once again rejected the applicant’s complaint, and this decision was upheld by the High Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad on 24 October 2019. The final domestic decision was rendered by the Constitutional Court on 17 June 2021 and served on the applicant on 4 October 2021.   QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES 1.   Has the applicant been subjected to torture and/or inhuman or degrading treatment, in breach of Article 3 of the Convention?   2.     Having regard to the procedural protection from torture and/or inhuman or degrading treatment (see paragraph 131 of Labita v. Italy [GC], no.   26772/95, ECHR 2000-IV), was the investigation by the domestic authorities into the applicant’s allegations of ill-treatment in the police station in breach of Article 3 of the Convention? In particular, did the investigation satisfy the criteria of promptness and effective access to the investigatory proceedings (see   Bouyid v. Belgium   [GC], no.   23380/09, §§   114-123, ECHR   2015 ; M.B. and Others v. Slovakia , no. 45322/17, §§ 78-79, 82, 1   April 2021; and X and Others v. Bulgaria [GC], no. 22457/16, §   189, 2   February 2021)?   The Government are invited to provide a copy of the entire file regarding the investigation in question, including records of the suspects’ hearing of 22   July 2016 and documents concerning notification of the applicant’s attorney about time and date of that hearing.