2.3 The complainant filed suit with the Vizcaya Provincial Court alleging that he had been tortured, and on 7 November 1997 the Court found three Civil Guards guilty of torture. Each officer received a prison sentence of four years, two months and one day, was disqualified from serving in State security agencies and units for six years and one day, and suspended from duty for the duration of his prison sentence. Under the terms of the sentence, the Civil Guards were ordered to pay compensation of 500,000 pesetas to the complainant. The Court held that the injuries sustained by the complainant had been caused by the Civil Guards in the area of open country where he was taken following his arrest. 2.4 The Public Prosecutor’s Office appealed the sentence to the Supreme Court, asking for the charges to be reviewed and the sentences reduced. In its judgement of 30 September 1998, the Supreme Court decided to reduce the Civil Guards’ prison sentence to one year. In its judgement, the Court held that the Civil Guards had assaulted the complainant with a view to obtaining a confession about his activities and the identities of other individuals belonging to the Bizkaia combat unit. It took the view that “fact-finding” torture of a degree exceeding cruel or degrading treatment had been established, but held that the injuries suffered by the complainant had not required medical or surgical attention: the first aid the complainant had received was sufficient. The Court considered that a sentence of one year’s imprisonment was in proportion to the gravity of the offence. 2.5 While the appeal was pending before the Supreme Court, one of the Civil Guards continued to work in French territory as an anti-terrorism coordinator with the French security forces, and with the authorization of the Ministry of the Interior embarked on studies with a view to promotion to the grade of Civil Guard commander. 2.6 The Ministry of Justice initiated proceedings to have the three convicted Civil Guards pardoned. The Council of Ministers, at its meeting of 16 July 1999, granted pardons to the three Civil Guards, suspending them from any form of public office for one month and one day. Notwithstanding this suspension, the Ministry of the Interior kept one of the Civil Guards on active duty in a senior post. The pardons were granted by the King in decrees published in Spain’s Official Gazette. 2.7 The complainant alleges that he has exhausted all available domestic remedies and has not submitted the matter to any other procedure of international investigation. The complaint 3.1 The complainant alleges that article 2 of the Convention has been violated because the various acts of the Spanish political and judicial authorities effectively legitimize the practice of torture, leading torturers to believe that they are virtually immune from prosecution, and demonstrating that the authorities condone serious ill-treatment that can be classified as torture. 3.2 The complainant alleges a violation of article 4 of the Convention. He argues that an example should be made of State officials found guilty of torture. In his view, both the reductions in prison terms and the pardons granted to the torturers violate the right of victims to obtain effective justice. He claims that the authorities of the State party, by taking decisions that effectively reduce the sentences and the actual punishment meted out to State officials convicted of torture, have violated article 4 of the Convention. 148