The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has found Bulgaria in violation of the prohibition of torture established in Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case, Stoykov v. Bulgaria, involved an inmate accused of theft.

Beaten and burned

Stoykov, who is currently serving a sentence in Stara Zagora Prison, was one of three accused of stealing 1.8 million Bulgarian leva (approximately 920,000 euros) from Peshtostroy, a local company.

Days after the robbery, Stoykov was arrested at his home in Kazanlak and taken by car out of the city towards the mountains, as he later explained. He claims that he was beaten, burned with a cigarette lighter, and had a knife stuck under his fingernails in order to extort information from him about where the money was hidden.

He lost consciousness several times during the torture. A medical certificate issued the following day recorded bruising, abrasions and other injuries to various parts of his body.

Forced confession?

On May 15, 2010, he was found guilty of theft and sentenced to 16 years and six months in prison. The Bulgarian court decided that he had not been forced to confess and that he had voluntarily shown the police the place where he had hidden the stolen money.

In November 2010, Stoykov lodged a complaint with the Chief Public Prosecutor and the Ministry of the Interior alleging that he had been subjected to ill-treatment in February 2009.

The regional prosecutor’s office refused to open criminal proceedings against the police officers concerned, and the appellate prosecutor gave a final decision upholding the regional prosecutor’s decision.

'Yet another ruling'

The ECtHR noted that although it could not verify the authenticity of Stoykov’s words about the way he was tortured, the information in the medical certificate about his injuries matches all that he described, including blood clots under his fingernails.

"This is yet another ruling of the Strasbourg court against Bulgaria because of police violence," said Krasimir Kanev, chairman of Bulgarian Helsinki Committee. "Moreover, the court finds that there had been a torture. This requires pre-trial proceedings, fast and effective investigation of the case and bringing perpetrators to justice."

The ECtHR didn't award compensations or expenses in this case — the applicant didn't request monetary compensation for non-pecuniary damages. However, he requested compensation for pecuniary damages in the amount of wages that he would have received if he was not in jail, but the court found no link between the violations and the alleged pecuniary damages.