Ochigava v. Georgia, No. 14142/15, ECtHR (Fifth Section), 16 February 2023

Repeated ill-treatment by prison officers as part of systematic and systemic abuse amount to inhuman and degrading treatment under article 3.

Art. 3 ECHR

1. The psychological effects of ill-treatment inflicted by State agents may undermine a victim’s capacity to take the necessary steps to bring proceedings against a perpetrator without delay. Such a barrier may become particularly difficult to overcome when victims continuously remain under the control of those implicated in the ill-treatment following the incident.

2. ‘Justice delayed is often justice denied’, as the existence of unreasonable periods of inactivity and a lack of diligence on the authorities’ part in conducting the proceedings may render the investigation ineffective.

3. In order for an investigation to be effective, its conclusions must always be based on thorough, objective and impartial analysis of all relevant elements, and this obviously includes conducting an adequate probe into credible allegations of criminal complicity.
(The applicant complained that he had been victim of systematic ill-treatment while detained in Gldani Prison in Tbilisi, and that the domestic authorities had failed to conduct an effective investigation into his allegations. The ECtHR found a violation of article 3 ECHR from both the procedural and substantive perspectives).