E/CN.4/1995/34
page 32
unknown to the police and the prosecuting authorities. The decision of the
Court was final, but compensation was a matter to be decided by the court of
competent jurisdiction after the filing of a claim by the complainant.
Czech Republic
Information transmitted to the Government
154. By letter dated 17 August 1994, the Special Rapporteur advised the
Government that he had received information concerning Jaroslav Jonáš, a
17-year-old Rom who died in police custody on 19 September 1993. He had been
arrested on 17 September 1993 on suspicion of having burgled a restaurant in
Frýdek-Místek and was allegedly beaten and forced to sign a confession. He
was later taken to hospital and treated for contusions on the left cheek, nose
and back of the neck. After he was ordered by a magistrate on 18 September to
remain in pre-trial detention, his father was notified that he had hanged
himself in his cell. An investigation by the Ostrava Prosecutor’s Office was
reportedly being conducted into the circumstances surrounding his death.
Denmark
Information transmitted to the Government and replies received
155. By letter dated 5 August 1994, the Special Rapporteur informed the
Government that he had received information concerning a painful form of
restraint used against detainees known as the "leg-lock". The method was said
to involve handcuffing the detainee behind the back, bending both legs at the
knee, wedging one foot against the opposite knee and placing the other foot up
under the handcuffs. The leg-lock was reported to have caused injuries such
as abrasions to the wrists and nerve damage, resulting in pain and long-term
numbness and tingling in the shoulders, arms, hands or fingers. The method
was also said to inhibit breathing, thus creating a risk of sudden death.
156. The leg-lock and other forms of ill-treatment had reportedly been
used against persons detained during police operations from September 1992
to December 1993 directed against hashish sellers in the Christiania
neighbourhood of Copenhagen. Although the police unit allegedly responsible
for most of the abuses, known as the "Christiania squad", was said to have
been disbanded in December 1993, the use of the leg-lock as a form of
restraint was said to continue.
157. The Special Rapporteur informed the Government of allegations he had
received concerning police abuse in the five cases summarized in the following
paragraphs.
158. Uvdlorianguaq Geisler was detained in the corridor of his house in
Christiania on 24 May 1993 by plainclothes officers and placed in a van in
the leg-lock position. He continued to suffer from tingling in his hands
five months after the incident. During this same incident, Brian Beyer
Johnsen was allegedly grabbed from behind by the police, after which he
fainted. He woke up in a police van in the leg-lock position and, unable to
endure the pain, managed to slip his foot through the cuffs. The police then
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