5.  The applicant was born in 1975 and is now serving his sentence in the Tula Region. 6.  At about 11.30 a.m. on 10 April 2003 the cashier desk of the Petelino psychiatric hospital in the Tula Region was robbed by three men armed with a submachine gun and a sawn-off shotgun. Two police patrols arrived at the scene less than five minutes later. 7.  The police officers who apprehended the applicant described the events in the following manner. Officer B. stated, in particular (his statement to the investigator is dated 17 June 2003):
“I saw three men cross the motorway and disappear behind the forest shelter belt ... I started running across the forest to intercept the criminals. At that moment I heard a burst of submachine gun fire. As I emerged out of the forest, I saw two men in front of me who later turned out to be [the applicant] and D. [The applicant] wore light-blue jeans and a dark jacket, and D. wore dark tracksuit bottoms. [The applicant] carried a Kalashnikov submachine gun with no butt, and D. had a sawn-off rifle ... I told the criminals to freeze, drop the guns and offer no resistance. [The applicant] and D. ... crossed the motorway. Then I shot a few rounds in burst mode in the direction of the criminals but above their heads and told them again to freeze. D. fell on the roadside, and the rifle flew out of his hands... [The applicant] turned around, saw the police car and fired several shots in its direction. Then he slipped and fell. I ran up to him, pointed my gun at him and told him to stop resistance and drop the weapon. The muzzle of his submachine gun was pointed at my face, so I kicked the gun out of his hand and used physical force on him in accordance with section 12 of the Police Act ... After the apprehension, we took them all to the Shatskoye police station. During the arrest I saw that [the applicant] shot at the patrol car ... [because] he wanted to stop the chase and run away from the police ... During the arrest we had to use physical force on [the applicant], D., and Sh. because they actively resisted us. As a result, they sustained injuries but I cannot say what injuries and where because they were covered in mud.” 8.  Officer M., in his statement to the investigator made on 11 April 2003, testified as follows:
“Three men were running some seventy metres ahead of us ... One of them – the one who was a bit taller, in light-blue jeans and black jacket – turned to us and fired a burst from his submachine gun in our direction ... [Officer B.] fired two shots at the running men ... The men had already crossed to the roadside in the direction of Novomoskovsk ... The man in blue jeans and black jacket fired a burst at the police car and started going down towards the forest but slipped and fell on his back. He held the submachine gun in front of his chest and pointed it at [Officer M.] who had also pointed his submachine gun at him and told him to drop his weapon ... I ran up to [Officer B.] and told the man in blue jeans to throw the gun away. The man reclined on his back and put the gun aside. I kicked it away and, using martial arts, bent his arm behind his back, led him away and put him on the ground where handcuffs were applied to him. [Officer Shch.] and I stayed next to the detained men ... [The third man] was also detained but I did not see him because he was brought directly to the Shatskoye police station where the other men were also taken ...” 9.  On the same day Officer S. testified in the same vein:
“... one of the men who were running ahead of us – the one who was taller and wore blue jeans and black jacket – turned around and fired a shot in our direction. Then I realised that the men were armed ... The men had already crossed to the roadside in the direction of Novomoskovsk ... The man in blue jeans and black jacket fired a burst at the police car and started going down towards the forest but slipped and fell on his back. He held the submachine gun in front of his chest and pointed it at [Officer M.] who had also pointed his submachine gun at him and told him to drop his weapon ...” 10.  It appears from Officer Shch.'s statement of 15 July 2003 that he had also taken part in the applicant's arrest:
“... As we arrived at the Tula-Novomoskovsk motorway, I saw one of the criminals – Kapanadze, as I learnt later – point a submachine gun wrapped in something blue at the patrol car and fire a burst in the direction of our car. I jumped out of the car and began shooting at Kapanadze and D. who was running after Kapanadze. They were crossing the motorway... Kapanadze ran to the forest and I attempted to cut him off, [Officer B.] was following me. [Officer B.] and I ran up to Kapanadze at the same moment, he pointed his gun at my boss, while continuing to run but slipped and we arrested him. Then we dragged him to the motorway and I stayed with the criminals ... During the arrest it was necessary to use physical force on Kapanadze, D. and Sh., in accordance with section 13 of the Police Act because they offered resistance ...” 11.  The applicant and two other men were brought to the Shatskoye police station in the Leninskiy district of the Tula Region. 12.  The applicant submitted that he had been brought to an office on the first floor. Two riot-squad (OMON) and operational officers (Mr G.) had been present in the room. They had accused the applicant of having shot a police officer while trying to get away. After Mr G. had left the room, the riot-squad officers had begun punching and kicking the applicant who had had his hands cuffed behind his back. Mr G. had later come back to the office and dealt the applicant several blows with a chair leg. 13.  At 8 p.m. on 10 April 2003 the investigator carried out a visual examination of the applicant's person in the presence of two attesting witnesses and a chemistry specialist. It was observed that the applicant's face was covered with a “grey and black substance”. There was a swelling on his left cheek and some thick substance similar to clotted blood on one leg. The anterior side of the applicant's body showed no visible injuries, but the upper right region and centre of his back were covered with bruises. Other bruises were located on his left thigh and right shin. 14.  Later on that day the officers took the applicant by car to the temporary detention ward of the Leninskiy district police station. According to him, the beatings continued in the car and the policemen stamped on his bare hands and kicked him in the face. They also insulted him and ridiculed his Georgian name. 15.  It appears that, further to the applicant's complaints about ill-treatment at the police station, the investigator Mr M. commissioned a further medical examination of the applicant. 16.  On 15 April 2003 the forensic expert recorded multiple abrasions and bruises on the applicant's face, including his right and left eyelids, nose, left cheek, left temple, left ear, the front of his thorax, his shoulders and shoulder-blades, left thigh, right knee and shin, and a swelling in the right occipital region of his head (report no. 1140). The expert determined that the injuries had been caused by the impact of hard blunt objects no earlier than seven days before the examination. 17.  On 18 April 2003 the applicant was transferred from the Leninskiy district police station to remand centre no. IZ-71/1 in Tula. On arrival at the remand centre he was examined by a doctor. According to the medical certificate of the same date, the applicant had a bruised right eye and right thigh. He asked the director of the remand centre to forward his complaint about ill-treatment by the police to the Tula regional prosecutor. 18.  On 2 May 2003 the investigator Mr Bu. of the Leninskiy district prosecutor's office issued a decision refusing to institute criminal proceedings in respect of the alleged ill-treatment. The decision referred to the statements by the arresting officers Mr B. and Mr Shch., who claimed that the applicant had actively resisted arrest and that they had used physical force on him. The operational officers Mr L. and Mr A. from the Shatskoye police station stated that upon their arrival at the station the detainees had not presented any visible injuries because they had been covered in dirt and dust. The officers denied that they had exerted any physical or mental pressure on the detainees. On the basis of that evidence, the investigator concluded that the applicant's injuries must have been lawfully caused during his arrest. 19.  It appears that the decision of 2 May 2003 was set aside by the supervising prosecutor who ordered an additional inquiry. 20.  On 28 July 2003 the investigator Mr Bu. issued a new decision refusing to institute criminal proceedings. The text of the decision was identical, word for word, to that of the decision of 2 May 2003. 21.  The applicant complained to the Leninskiy district prosecutor that Mr Bu. was not able to carry out an independent inquiry because he had been present at the police station on 10 April 2003 and witnessed the beatings. On 13 and 18 September 2003 the deputy Leninskiy district prosecutor informed him that his allegations had already been examined by the investigator Mr Bu. and found to have been unsubstantiated. 22.  The applicant also complained to the Prosecutor General and the Tula regional prosecutor. On 4 March 2004 the regional prosecutor asked the Leninskiy district prosecutor to examine the matter. 23.  On the following day the deputy Leninskiy district prosecutor issued a decision refusing to institute criminal proceedings in respect of the applicant's allegations of ill-treatment. The deputy prosecutor referred to the statements by the investigator Mr Bu., another investigator Ms I., and the operational officers Mr Shch. and Mr M. from the Shatskoye police station. They denied having exerted, or having seen anyone exert, any mental or physical pressure on the detainees. The deputy prosecutor concluded that the injuries had been caused during the arrest and that the applicant's allegations of ill-treatment had been made “for the purpose of avoiding criminal responsibility for the crimes”. 24.  In the meantime, the trial court called Officers B., M., S., and Shch. and the investigator Mr Bu. to the witness stand and asked them to describe the circumstances of the co-defendants' arrest. At the hearing on 2 September 2004 Officer Shch. stated that the defendants had not offered any resistance during the arrest and that they had been immediately handcuffed. He denied using any physical force during the arrest and pointed out that the applicant had been dirty but had had no visible injuries. Officer B. submitted that no physical force had been employed by himself or by his subordinates. He had merely twisted the applicant's arms and handcuffed him. Officer S. confirmed that, once on the ground, the defendants had ceased to resist arrest and that there was no attempt to punish them after the arrest. Officer M. testified that one of the defendants had been handcuffed, and the others' hands had been tied with belts. The investigator Mr Bu. said he was unable to remember any injuries on the defendants. At the hearing on 4 November 2004 Officers A. and Z. testified that the applicant had borne no visible injuries on his arrival to the police station. 25.  The applicant complained to a court that the prosecutor's decision of 5 March 2004 had not been notified to him. He also submitted that the decision was unlawful because the existing medical evidence convincingly showed that he had been a victim of ill-treatment. He sought leave to appear in person before the court. By an interim decision of 20 October 2004, the Leninskiy District Court of the Tula Region refused the applicant leave to appear, finding that the applicant's written submissions were sufficiently detailed. 26.  On 15 November 2004 the Leninskiy District Court dismissed the applicant's complaint. It found that a copy of the decision of 5 March 2004 had been sent to the correspondence department of the remand centre and that the contested decision was lawful and justified because it had been “founded on the findings of a complete, comprehensive and objective inquiry into the accused's allegations”. The District Court did not refer to the applicant's factual submissions or medical evidence. 27.  The applicant filed an appeal. He asked the Regional Court to obtain the attendance of his counsel Mr R. during the examination of the appeal. 28.  On 26 January 2005 the Tula Regional Court upheld, in summary fashion, the District Court's judgment. The applicant was neither present nor represented at the appeal hearing. 29.  On 19 July 2005 the Uzlovaya Town Court convicted the applicant and his co-defendants of four robberies and sentenced him to ten years' imprisonment. On 25 January 2006 the Tula Regional Court upheld the conviction on appeal.