Nasr and Ghali v. Italy, No. 44883/09, ECtHR (Fourth Section), 23 May 2016

Effective investigations as a tool for establishing the truth. Abuse of state secret privilege to grant impunity. Procedural dimension of Art. 3 ECHR.

Art. 3 ECHR

Invoking the State secret privilege regarding material that had already been publicly divulged with the aim to guarantee the impunity of those responsible for ill-treatment breaches article 3 ECHR in its procedural limb. Indeed, the effectiveness of the legal prohibition of torture requires both an effective investigation capable of establishing the truth and the punishment of perpetrators. (In the instant case, the applicant, known as Abu Omar, was subjected to extraordinary rendition by the CIA, with the cooperation of Italian agents. After his kidnapping in Milan, the Italian prosecuting authorities conducted a thorough investigation that established the truth about the sequence of events and identified those responsible for the ill-treatment he suffered. However, appropriate convictions do not follow the inquiry. The evidence collected was covered by the state secret privilege, although the press had already reported that information).