PGO reopens investigation of criminal proceedings with violations found by European Court of Human Rights
The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine (PGO) has reopened the investigation of criminal proceedings in which violations by the European Court of Human Rights have been established, the PGO press service said.
"More than 70 cases of torture and other forms of abusive treatment have been monitored by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe since 2013. The European Court of Human Rights found that Ukraine had violated the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms due to improper treatment of persons under government control and the ineffectiveness of the investigation of criminal proceedings on such facts," the PGO said in a statement on its official website on Wednesday evening.
Since May 2020, the state of the investigation of criminal proceedings in this category has been taken under control by the Prosecutor General's Office.
"According to the results of the analysis carried out by the prosecutors of the anti-torture branch, the leadership of the Prosecutor General's Office canceled 27 illegal decisions of investigators to close such criminal proceedings, detailed instructions were provided in 30 proceedings, taking into account the available decisions of the European Court of Human Rights," the PGO said in the statement.
The Prosecutor General's Office said that due to the measures taken, in 2020 it was possible to significantly intensify the investigation of criminal proceedings related to the use of violence by law enforcement officers.
"In particular, suspicion was reported to 18 law enforcement officers for committing torture over eight months of this year, while only two over the whole of 2019, for abuse of power and official powers associated with the use of violence, suspicion was reported to 86 law enforcement officers, in 2019 to 44 officers," the PGO said.