CAT/C/50/D/479/2011 2.2 The complainant was brought to the Chekhov District Police Station, where police officers started to threaten him and beat him on the head. They asked him to confess the killing of one Ms. I.B., who had disappeared on 15 April 2002, while on her way from Moscow to Chekhov by bus. 2.3 The complainant claims that initially he was not informed of his right to be represented by a lawyer, he was not officially charged with any crime, and his arrest was not registered at the police station. 2.4 On 18 April 2002, a forensic–medical examination was performed on the complainant. No injuries were found on his body. 2.5 On the night from 19 to 20 April 2002, four police officers brought the complainant to a remote forest area. He submits that he was handcuffed and his head was covered with a hood. He was offered a “last chance” to confess guilt, otherwise he would be killed. The officers started beating him, and he was pushed on his knees very close to a bonfire. One of his knees was burnt by the fire. He was also beaten in the kidneys liver and area, on back and his ribs and was again threatened with murder. The officers also threatened to kill his wife and daughter. Thereafter, the complainant was taken back to the temporary confinement ward at the Chekhov District Police Station. 2.6 On 20 April 2002, the complainant’s counsel visited him and he informed her that he was frightened, as he was under constant threats. He told her about the events of the night from 19 to 20 April 2002. On the same day, counsel complained to the Moscow Region Prosecutor’s Office about the complainant’s ill-treatment and threatening. 2.7 During the night from 21 to 22 April 2002, three unknown men entered the complainant’s cell. One explained that he was the Head of the Criminal Police of Chekhov city. After having threatened the complainant and his family, the men left. The following night, several other officers came into his cell, along with the relatives of the missing Ms. I.B. The complainant was again threatened to be killed if he did not confess guilt. 2.8 On 22 April 2002, the Senior Inspector of the Moscow Region Prosecutor’s Office of Chekhov city ordered a forensic-medical expert’s examination of the complainant, which was carried out on 7 May 2002. During the examination, the complainant explained to the forensic expert that he had acute pain in the chest and that he felt dizzy. He claims that in reply, the expert, orally, told him that his ribs were broken. However, according to the record of the forensic examination, only a small, already healing wound was found on the complainant’s left knee. According to the record, the wound in question could have been caused as a result of high or low temperature, by a curved object or by chemical substances. As a result, on 28 June 2002, the Senior Inspector of the Moscow Region Prosecutor’s Office of Chekhov city refused to initiate criminal proceedings with respect to the complainant’s ill-treatment claims. 2.9 The complainant submits that he finally confessed having committed the crime he was charged with as a result of the torture, threats and ill-treatment suffered. On an unspecified date in November 2002, he was transferred to the Serpukhov city prison, where torture and ill-treatment allegedly continued. 2.10 On 11 March 2003, the Moscow Regional Court found the complainant guilty, inter alia, under article 131, paragraph 3 (rape) and article 105, paragraph 2 (murder in a group of persons) of the Criminal Code and sentenced him to 21 years of imprisonment. On appeal, on 13 May 2003, the Supreme Court upheld the judgment of 11 March 2003. The complainant submits that, during the court trial, his counsel requested the Moscow Regional Court to take into account the issue of torture and the injury as established by the forensic-medical expert on 7 May 2002, but the court rejected this request. 3