Communicated on 6 July 2020
Published on 27 July 2020
THIRD SECTION
Applications nos. 56617/19 and 56637/19
Severi Karlovna GROMADSKAYA against Russia
and Anton Vladimirovich BOLONIN against Russia
lodged on 14 October 2019 and 11 October 2019 respectively
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The applications concern the allegedly ineffective investigation into an attack on the applicants, a transgender homosexual man and a transgender person of non-binary gender, which was committed by an unknown man in a bar in St Petersburg on 14 October 2017.
According to the applicants, the perpetrator approached them having seen a rainbow bracelet (symbol of LGBTI pride and social movements) on their friend. Then he insulted them referring to their alleged homosexuality and beat them up, inflicting several contusions.
The applicants reported the incident to the 10th police station in the Nevskiy District of St Petersburg (“the police”), which opened administrative proceedings into the incident under Article 6.1.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences (“Battery”).
Alleging that the attack had been motivated by hatred against LGBTI people the applicants sought a criminal case to be opened by the police. Several times the police refused to initiate criminal proceedings into the incident. It held that the attack had not amounted to a criminal offence. After several complaints had been lodged by the applicants’ lawyer with various domestic authorities, including the Nevskiy District Court in St Petersburg, the police decisions not to open a criminal case were overruled by the deputy prosecutor in the Nevskiy District of St Petersburg for being premature and ill-founded. It appears that the criminal pre-investigation inquiry is still ongoing.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Did the authorities conduct an effective investigation into the attack of 14 October 2017 as required by Articles 3 and 8 taken alone and in conjunction with Article 14 of the Convention? In particular, did they investigate the existence of a hatred motive behind the act of violence (see M.C. and A.C. v. Romania, no. 12060/12, §§ 105-26, 12 April 2016)?
2. Did the applicants have at their disposal an effective domestic remedy for their Convention complaints, as required by Article 13 of the Convention?
The Government are requested to submit a copy of the material related to the criminal pre-investigation inquiries and the administrative proceedings opened into the attack of 14 October 2017.
List of the applicants
No.
Application no.
Lodged on
Case name
Applicant
Birth year
Place of Residence
Nationality
Represented by
1
56617/19
14/10/2019
Gromadskaya v. Russia
Severi Karlovna GROMADSKAYA
1984
St Petersburg
Russian
K.A. Mikhaylova
2
56637/19
11/10/2019
Bolonin v. Russia
Anton Vladimirovich BOLONIN
1978
St Petersburg
Russian
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy