JALLOH v. GERMANY JUDGMENT
23
81. As to the effects of the impugned measure on the suspect’s health,
the Court notes that the parties disagree about whether the applicant has
suffered any lasting damage to his health, notably to his stomach. Having
regard to the material before it, it finds that it has not been established that
either his treatment for stomach troubles in the prison hospital two and a
half months after his arrest or any subsequent medical treatment he received
was caused by the forcible administration of the emetics. This conclusion
does not, of course, call into question the Court’s above finding that the
forcible medical intervention was not without possible risk to the
applicant’s health.
82. Having regard to all the circumstances of the case, the Court finds
that the impugned measure attained the minimum level of severity required
to bring it within the scope of Article 3. The authorities subjected the
applicant to a grave interference with his physical and mental integrity
against his will. They forced him to regurgitate, not for therapeutic reasons,
but in order to retrieve evidence they could equally have obtained by less
intrusive methods. The manner in which the impugned measure was carried
out was liable to arouse in the applicant feelings of fear, anguish and
inferiority that were capable of humiliating and debasing him. Furthermore,
the procedure entailed risks to the applicant’s health, not least because of
the failure to obtain a proper anamnesis beforehand. Although this was not
the intention, the measure was implemented in a way which caused the
applicant both physical pain and mental suffering. He has therefore been
subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment contrary to Article 3.
83. Accordingly, the Court concludes that there has been a violation of
Article 3 of the Convention.
II. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 8 OF THE CONVENTION
84. In the applicant’s submission, the administration of emetics by force
also amounted to a disproportionate interference with his right to respect for
his private life. He relied on Article 8 of the Convention, the relevant parts
of which read:
“1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private ... life ...
2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right
except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society
in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the
country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals,
or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.”
85. The Government disagreed with that submission.
86. The Court has already examined the applicant’s complaint
concerning the forcible administration of emetics to him under Article 3 of
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