4.  The applicants were born in 1975 and 1976 respectively. 5.  On 10 July 1999 the applicants were apprehended by the police and taken to Torez Town Police Station. According to the applicants, at the station the police officers ill-treated them in order to extract confessions to the attempted robbery and murder of a Mr L. 6.  On 12 July 1999 the applicants were identified by witnesses S. and Gn. and the victim Mr L. 7.  The applicants' detention at the police station was not recorded until 13 July 1999, when they were formally arrested. According to the Government, on this day Mr Lopatin resisted while being placed in his cell and had refused to give up items prohibited in detention facilities – a belt and shoe laces. Mr Lopatin objected to this latter assertion, stating that he had been detained for three days already at that time and could not possibly have had any prohibited items on him. 8.  On 15 July 1999 both applicants were examined by a forensic medical expert, who drew up reports on the same date. The expert found that Mr Medvedskiy had bruises and scratches on his face, wrists, left elbow, legs, buttocks, hips and back. The expert concluded that the bruises could have been caused by blows with hard objects and could be classified as light bodily injuries. In particular, the bruises on the buttocks and hips could have been caused between 10 and 12 July 1999 by blows with a truncheon. He further concluded that the scratches on the applicant's wrists could have been caused between 10 and 12 July 1999 by the use of handcuffs. With respect to Mr Lopatin, the expert found that he had bruises and scratches on his forehead, neck, wrists, shoulders, back, legs and hips. The expert concluded that the bruises could have been caused by blows with hard objects and could be classified as light bodily injuries. He further concluded that the scratches on the wrists could have been caused between 10 and 12 July 1999 by the use of handcuffs. 9.  On 6 August 1999 the Torez Prosecutor's Office refused to institute criminal proceedings into the applicants' allegations of ill-treatment by the police. The decision mentioned that although the applicants had been identified by witnesses on 12 July 1999 they had only been arrested on 13 July 1999. The investigator further noted that, according to the police, Mr Lopatin had resisted when being placed in his cell and that lawful force had been used against him. As to Mr Medvedskiy, the investigator noted that, according to the police, he had had a fight with G., a cellmate. The investigator concluded that there was no evidence that the police had inflicted any bodily harm on the applicants. 10.  By a letter of 24 November 1999, the Head of the Torez Police Department informed the Torez Prosecutor that the applicants had been taken to the police station on 10 July 1999. As they had made contradictory statements and referred to witnesses who could prove their alibi, their statements had to be verified by the police officers and this took until 13 July 1999. 11.  On 7 December 1999 the prosecutor severed the materials concerning the applicants' detention between 10 and 13 July 1999 from the criminal case file in order to conduct an additional inquiry into the alleged unlawful detention. 12.  The investigation into the criminal case against the applicants was completed on 9 February 2000. On the same day the case was sent to the Donetsk Regional Court for examination. 13.  On 17 March 2000 the criminal case was remitted to the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office for additional investigation. 14.  On 4 May 2000 the criminal case against the applicants was referred to court. 15.  Four court hearings in the case took place between May and September 2000. 16.  According to the Government, the proceedings were adjourned between 14 September 2000 and 10 December 2001 because Mr Lopatin's lawyer was ill. According to Mr Lopatin, his lawyer requested an adjournment of the proceedings due to illness for one month only - in February 2001. 17.  Between December 2001 and June 2002 five court hearings took place and one forensic examination was conducted. 18.  On 7 June 2002 the Donetsk Court of Appeal, acting as a first instance court, sentenced Mr Lopatin to nine years' imprisonment for robbery and Mr Medvedskiy to fifteen years' imprisonment for robbery and murder. In a separate ruling the court requested the Torez Prosecutor Office to examine the lawfulness of the applicants' detention at the Torez Police Station between 10 and 13 July 1999 and their allegations of ill-treatment. 19.  On 14 November 2002 the Supreme Court of Ukraine upheld the decision of the Donetsk Court of Appeal. 20.  On 23 September 2003 the prosecutor questioned the police officers concerned. 21.  On 25 September 2003 the Torez Court quashed the decision refusing to institute criminal proceedings concerning the allegations of ill-treatment dated 6 August 1999 in respect of both applicants and sent the case file for further investigation. The court noted that there were documents confirming the applicants' detention and bodily harm and that the investigator's conclusion contradicted the established facts. 22.  On 3 October 2003 the Torez Prosecutor's Office, after having questioned the forensic expert on whether the applicants' injuries could have been inflicted on 13 or 14 July 1999 and received an affirmative reply, refused to institute criminal proceedings. In the decision it was noted that the applicants had been taken to the police station on 10 July and that the investigators had taken until 13 July to check their testimonies and interview them, but that no data had been found on the unlawful detention of the applicants at Torez Police Station. 23.  On 15 March 2004 the Torez Court refused an appeal by Mr Lopatin against the prosecutor's decision of 3 October 2003. 24.  On 27 July 2004 the Donetsk Court of Appeal quashed the decision of 15 March 2004 and remitted the case for fresh consideration. 25.  On 20 September 2004 the Torez Court quashed the decision of 3 October 2003 in respect of Mr Lopatin on account of insufficient additional investigation and remitted the case for further investigation. In particular, the court instructed the investigator to question additional witnesses who had been in contact with Mr Lopatin at the time of the alleged offence. 26.  On 15 October 2004 after questioning the police officers, the prosecutor refused to institute criminal proceedings into Mr Lopatin's allegations of ill-treatment. He concluded that the bodily harm caused to the applicant by the police officers had been lawful as he had been refusing to hand over prohibited items on his arrest. 27.  On 15 December 2004 the Torez Court quashed the decision of 3 October 2003 in respect of Mr Medvedskiy on account of insufficient additional investigation and remitted the case for further investigation. The court instructed the investigator in particular to question additional witnesses who had been in contact with Mr Medvedskiy at the time of the alleged offence. 28.  On 2 February 2005 the prosecutor questioned the police officers. 29.  On 4 February 2005 the Torez Prosecutor's Office refused to institute criminal proceedings into the applicants' allegations. In its decision the investigator relied on previously obtained material and on the testimonies of police officers who could not recollect the details of the applicants' case. 30.  On 17 February 2005 the decision of 4 February 2005 was quashed by the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office on account of the incompleteness of the investigation. The prosecutor noted in particular that the investigator had not questioned the doctors who had examined the applicants, the police officers of the detention facility, or the cell-mate G., who had allegedly inflicted bodily harm on Mr Medvedskiy. 31.  On 18 March 2005 the prosecutor questioned the doctor who had examined the applicants. 32.  On 20 March 2005 the Torez Prosecutor's Office refused to institute criminal proceedings into the applicants' allegations. On 31 March 2005 this decision was quashed by the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office on account of the incompleteness of the investigation. 33.  On 14 April 2005 the Torez Prosecutor's Office requested the Torez Police Department to conduct an internal inquiry into the applicants' allegations of ill-treatment and unlawful detention between 10 and 13 July 1999. 34.  On 15 April 2005 the acting head of the Torez Police Department replied that it was not possible to conduct the requested inquiry since all the records relating to the period when the alleged violations had happened had been destroyed after the expiry of the three-year time-limit. 35.  On 15 April 2005 the Torez Prosecutor's Office refused to institute criminal proceedings. It was decided that the bodily harm sustained by Mr Lopatin was the result of lawful use of force by the police and that the bodily harm sustained by Mr Medvedskiy was the result of a fight with his cellmate. It was further established that the applicants had been unlawfully detained at Torez Police Station between 10 and 13 July 2005, but the officials of the above police station could not be found criminally liable for an abuse of power because their prosecution was time-barred. The applicants did not appeal against that decision. 36.  By a letter of 29 December 2005, the Prosecutor of the Donetsk Region informed Mr Medvedskiy's mother that they would no longer reply to her complaints about the refusal to institute criminal proceedings into the allegations of unlawful detention and ill-treatment.