Published on 27 March 2023
FIFTH SECTION
Application no. 910/18
Zoryan Romanovych KIS and Tymur Anzorovych LEVCHUK
against Ukraine
lodged on 14 December 2017
communicated on 6 March 2023
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The application concerns the alleged lack of effective investigation into the applicants’ ill-treatment suffered as a result of a social experiment carried out by the applicants, a gay couple, on 15 July 2015, and which was videotaped. The ill-treatment consisted in the applicants being briefly sprayed with pepper gas and kicked by a group of people.
On 29 July 2015 the first applicant filed a criminal complaint. Following several closures of the proceedings, on 11 August 2017 the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv remitted the case for further investigation.
The applicants did not seek any medical assistance nor underwent a forensic medical examination. They did not provide details of their injuries to the Court.
The applicants raised their complaint under Article 8 in conjunction with Article 14; Article 13, in conjunction with Articles 3, 8 and 14; Article 14 taken separately, and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1.
The present application falls to be examined under Article 8, taken alone and in conjunction with Article 14.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Has there been a violation of the applicants’ right to respect for their private life contrary to Article 8 of the Convention? In particular, have the competent domestic authorities conducted an adequate investigation into the applicants’ complaint concerning the event of 15 July 2015, as required by the procedural obligations under Article 8 of the Convention?
2. Having regard to the incident of 15 July 2015 and the authorities’ alleged failure to conduct an effective investigation, have the applicants suffered discrimination on the ground of their sexual orientation contrary to Article 14 of the Convention, read in conjunction with Article 8 of the Convention?