CEDH · PRESS;GENERAL;ENG — 6 octobre 2005

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s40F41F73 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .sCB9E0544 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left } .s76CF415B { page-break-before:always; clear:both } .s69BE285C { margin-top:0pt; margin-left:85.05pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:-85.05pt } .s9A223E1B { width:11.03pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s595A57E4 { width:85.05pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s3CED24E9 { width:27.05pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s9F8EB0C0 { width:18.63pt; display:inline-block } .s9E97F54A { width:85.05pt; display:inline-block } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS   511 6.10.2005   Press release issued by the Registrar   CHAMBER HEARING TAÏS v. FRANCE   The European Court of Human Rights is holding a Chamber hearing today Thursday 6 October 2005 at 9 a.m., on the admissibility and merits in the case of Taïs v. France (application no. 39922/03).   The applicants   Suzette Taïs and her husband Mohammed Taïs are French nationals who were born in 1937 and 1938 respectively and live in Saint-Pierre Du Mont (France).   Summary of the facts   On the morning of 7 April 1993 their son, Pascal Taïs, aged 33, was found dead in a cell of Arcachon police station, where he had been placed overnight to sober up.   The day before, on 6 April 1993, he and his girlfriend had been involved in a minor road accident at around 7.30 p.m. They were subsequently stopped and questioned during a fight which broke out in Arcachon at around 11.45 p.m., and were taken to hospital around midnight for a medical examination. Pascal Taïs refused to be examined and, when he became violent, the police officers struck him with batons on the hands, legs and chest; they also acknowledged having slapped him in an attempt to calm him down.   The doctor who attended him discharged him from hospital, and around 12.30 a.m. Mr Taïs, who showed signs of inebriation, was placed in an overnight cell to sober up while his partner was taken into police custody. Pascal Taïs shouted and screamed for part of the night. At around 7.30 a.m. he was found dead in his cell, lying in a pool of blood and excrement.   The same day, the Bordeaux public prosecutor’s office instructed the National Police Inspectorate to investigate the causes of the death of Pascal Taïs. An autopsy was performed. The autopsy report found that Mr Taïs had died of a haemorrhage following a rupture to the spleen. It recorded that he had a wound to the back of the head and skin erosions and multiple bruises, mainly to the face, neck, chest and limbs. It further specified that Pascal Taïs, who had been suffering from Aids, was weakened by a pathological condition.   On 19 April 1993 the applicants lodged a complaint against persons unknown for manslaughter and failing to assist a person in danger, and lodged an application to join the proceedings as civil parties. An investigation was opened in connection with which a number of expert reports were prepared at the request of the investigating judge, notably a post mortem psychologist’s report, which was submitted on 7 October 1994. On 28 June 1996 the investigating judge, finding that the custody officers at the police station could not be implicated in the events, found that there was no case to answer.   On an appeal by the applicants, the Indictments Division of the Bordeaux Court of Appeal upheld that decision on 19 June 2003.   Complaints   Relying on Article 2 (right to life) of the European Convention on Human Rights, the applicants contend that their son’s death was the result of serious failings on the part of the authorities, and that the investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death was not effective owing to its length, its partiality and its omissions.   They further contend, on the basis of Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment), that their son was subjected to ill-treatment in the hours leading up to his death.   They also allege a violation of Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time) owing to the length of the proceedings.   Finally, they complain about the post mortem procedure, which concluded, in offensive terms, that they had failed in the way they had brought up their son, and constituted an infringement of their right to respect for their private life as secured by Article 8.   Procedure   The application was lodged with the European Court of Human Rights on 18 December 2003.   Composition of the Court   The case will be heard by a Chamber composed as follows:   Christos Rozakis (Greek), President , Loukis Loucaides (Cypriot), Jean-Paul Costa (French), Françoise Tulkens (Belgian), Peer Lorenzen (Danish), Nina Vajić (Croatian), Anatoli Kovler (Russian), judges , Snejana Botoucharova (Bulgarian), Dean Spielmann (Luxemburger), Sverre Erik Jebens (Norwegian), substitute judges , and also Santiago Quesada , Deputy Section Registrar .   Representatives of the parties   Government :   Anne-Françoise Tissier , Agent ,   Mostafa Mihraje , Marie-Odile Moreau , Sandrine Gil , Frédérique Doublet , Lionel Razurel , Counsel   ;   Applicant :   Jacques Vincens , Counsel .   Mr and Mrs Taïs will also attend the hearing.   ***   After the hearing the Court will begin its deliberations, which are held in private. A decision on admissibility, followed if appropriate by a judgment, will be delivered at a later date.     Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Press contacts:   Roderick Liddell (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 24 92)   Emma Hellyer (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 90 21 42 15)   Stéphanie Klein (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 21 54)   Beverley Jacobs (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 90 21 54 21) Fax: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 27 91   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg by the Council of Europe Member States in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. Since 1 November 1998 it has sat as a full-time Court composed of an equal number of judges to that of the States party to the Convention. The Court examines the admissibility and merits of applications submitted to it. It sits in Chambers of 7 judges or, in exceptional cases, as a Grand Chamber of 17 judges. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe supervises the execution of the Court’s judgments. More detailed information about the Court and its activities can be found on its Internet site.