The case of Olga Litkevich v. the Russian Federation. Views of the UN Human Rights Committee dated March 11, 2022. Communication No. 2758/2016.
In 2016, the author was assisted in preparing a complaint. Subsequently, the complaint was communicated to the Russian Federation.
The author claimed a violation of her son's rights under article 6, paragraph 1, considered separately and in conjunction with article 2, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, since her son died while being held in a State institution, as well as on procedural grounds due to the lack of an effective investigation. The Committee found a violation of article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and her son's rights under article 6, paragraph 1, read separately and in conjunction with article 2, paragraph 3, of the Covenant.
The legal position of the Human Rights Committee: By detaining and detaining individuals, States parties assume responsibility for taking care of their lives, and criminal investigation and subsequent prosecution of perpetrators are necessary remedies for human rights violations, the protection of which is provided for in article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. political rights (paragraph 9.3 of the Considerations).
The Human Rights Committee refers to its general comment No. 31 (2004), in which it states that in cases where investigations reveal violations of certain rights recognized in the Covenant, in particular those provided for in article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, States parties are required to ensure that to bring the perpetrators to justice (paragraph 18). Although the obligation to bring to justice those responsible for violations of article 6 is an obligation to take action rather than achieve results, States parties have an obligation to investigate in good faith, promptly and thoroughly all allegations of serious violations of the Covenant by them and their official authorities (paragraph 9.3 of the Views).
The Human Rights Committee recalls that the burden of proof cannot rest solely on the author of a communication, especially since the author and the State party do not always have equal access to evidence and that often only the State party has access to relevant information (paragraph 9.4 of the Views).
The Human Rights Committee's assessment of the factual circumstances of the case: in a situation where time plays such a significant role, the investigation of the case was not only initiated eight months after the events, but also suspended 18 times (paragraph 9.4 of the Considerations).
The State party has not conducted a proper and exhaustive investigation, the results of which could have refuted the author's claims that her son died due to injuries sustained while in custody (paragraph 9.5 of the Views).
The Human Rights Committee has noted the author's allegations that, due to the lack of a proper and exhaustive investigation, she is unaware of the exact circumstances of her son's death, which is a source of stress and suffering amounting to torture. The Human Rights Committee noted that although about 18 years had passed since Mr. Litkevich's death, the author still did not know the exact circumstances of the incident and that the State party's authorities had been unable or unwilling to conduct an effective investigation. The Human Rights Committee was sympathetic to the allegation of constant suffering and psychological stress inflicted on the author as the mother of a person who died in custody, and considered that they amounted to inhuman treatment in violation of article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (paragraph 9.6 of the Views).
Conclusions of the Human Rights Committee: The facts presented demonstrated a violation of the author's rights under article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and her son's rights under paragraph 1 of article 6 of the Covenant, considered separately and in conjunction with paragraph 3 of article 2 of this international treaty.