CEDH · CASELAW;COMMUNICATEDCASES;ENG — 30 août 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 } Published on 16 September 2024   THIRD SECTION Application no. 23157/22 Petar Zhelyazkov POLITOV against Bulgaria lodged on 3 May 2022 communicated on 30 August 2024 SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE The application concerns the applicant’s complaint under Article 3 of the Convention (he also relies on Article 13)   that the authorities failed to carry out an effective investigation into his complaint that he had sustained a wound on his nose and a traumatic oedema with bruising as a result of an assault by a private individual, X, on 7 April 2014 while performing his duties as an official of the municipality. Specifically, having opened a criminal investigation against X in May 2014, the Plovdiv District Prosecutor terminated the proceedings on 12 July 2017, considering that the facts corresponded to the privately prosecutable offence of inflicting minor bodily injuries. Upon the applicant’s appeal, on 20   October 2017 the Plovdiv District Court quashed the termination and remitted the case to the prosecution for investigation into the publicly prosecutable offence of inflicting bodily injury on an official. The prosecution suspended the proceedings on five occasions and the court quashed the suspensions each time. Ultimately, on 16 November 2021 the Plovdiv District Prosecutor terminated the criminal proceedings, since the absolute limitation period for a privately prosecutable offence had lapsed on 7 October 2021. In the meantime, the applicant had obtained compensation in the amount of 400 euros at the end of separate civil proceedings which he had brought against the perpetrator (final judgment of 18 March 2020 of the Plovdiv Regional Court). QUESTION TO THE PARTIES Bearing in mind the applicant’s complaint and having regard to the procedural protection under Article 3 of the Convention (see, among others, X and Others v. Bulgaria [GC], no. 22457/16, § 177 and 184-90, 2 February 2021; Stoev and Others v. Bulgaria , no.   41717/09, §   42, 11 March 2014, and Kosteckas v. Lithuania , no.   960/13, §   40, 13 June 2017), was the investigation conducted in the present case by the domestic authorities effective in accordance with the above provisions? The Government are invited to submit to the Court the whole file of the proceedings opened into the applicant’s complaint.