The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordered Tuesday the Republic of Cyprus to pay €25,000 euros, plus €3,000 for costs and expenses, for the ill-treatment of a foreign national by the police and for the authorities` failure to carry out an effective investigation into the incident.
According to the Court, Canadian national Hani Abdul Khani Kabbara was arrested by the police in front of a bank in Limassol on February 27, 2011, as he was suspected, among other things, of having withdrawn money with a fake credit card.
He was immediately taken to the Limassol central police station and on the same day, he was examined by doctors at Limassol General Hospital who found various injuries.
Relying on Article 3, about the prohibition of torture and of inhuman or degrading treatment, Kabbara alleged that he was ill-treated by police officers during his detention at the police station and that no effective investigation was carried out by the national authorities into his complaint.