CAT/C/42/D/261/2005
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evidence as to whether the uniformed policemen who were present undertook any actions in
order to protect the Roma from the assault of these “civilians”. Neither did it produce any
evidence about measures it took to identify these “civilians” and to provide their names to the
complainant.
9.5 The complainant concludes that the burden rests on the State party to prove either under
which circumstances the complainant was injured by policemen (in accordance with the original
version of the events) or how these “civilians” managed to penetrate into the settlement
undetected and assault the Roma inhabitants, as the State party currently suggests. The
complainant stresses that the police operation launched on that day was mounted following
careful preparation and planning, i.e. it was not a “spontaneous” police operation. Therefore, the
police authorities had ample time to prepare themselves and take all the necessary measures in
order to minimize any kind of threat to the Roma.
9.6 For the complainant reiterates, the State party failed to advance new arguments regarding
the adequacy of the investigation launched into his allegations of ill-treatment and recalls that
this “is not an obligation of result, but of means”. Any investigation should in principle be
capable of leading to the establishment of the facts of the case and, if the allegations prove to be
true, to the identification and punishment of those held responsible. In the present case, the
Prosecutor based his decision not to open the investigation into the HLC’s criminal offence
report on the report received from the Secretariat of Internal Affairs of Belgrade, Internal Affairs
Control Section, dated 9 November 2000.32 The State party continues to withhold this report
from him and the Committee.33 The complainant further notes that the State party itself questions
the validity of this report by supporting three mutually exclusive versions of the events that took
place on 8 June 2000.34
9.7 The complainant further submits, inter alia, that the State party’s authorities have failed to
establish how many uniformed (not to mention plainclothes) policemen and from what
departments were present on 8 June 2000; to investigate whether any of its agencies uses a
vehicle with the license plate number that had been provided by the complainant and other
witnesses; and to request a copy of the registry of the Department of Internal Affairs of New
Belgrade.35 He adds that starting from 25 December 2001, there was concrete evidence36 that
policemen from yet another police agency, in addition to the Bezanija Police Department, had
been involved in the demolition of the “Antena” settlement and that the Prosecutor should have
been aware that the information provided by the Department of Internal Affairs of New Belgrade
in its letter of 6 February 2003 was inaccurate.37 Nevertheless, the complainant’s case was closed
pursuant to article 257 of the CPC. The complainant argues that the fact that all his requests to
supplement the investigation were granted by the investigating judge amounts to a concession of
the inadequacy of the investigation measures taken until then.
32
See paragraphs 4.2 and 4.6 above.
See paragraph 5.7 above.
34
See paragraphs 4.2 and 8.2 above.
35
See paragraph 2.17 above.
36
See paragraph 2.7 above.
37
See paragraphs 2.15 and 2.17 above.
33