Information Note on the Court’s case-law 231
July 2019
T.I. and Others v. Greece - 40311/10
Judgment 18.7.2019 [Section I]
Article 4
Effective investigation
Article 4-1
Trafficking in human beings
Failure by the authorities, among other things, to conduct an effective investigation into the issuing of visas by public officials, which allegedly enabled human trafficking: violation
Facts – The applicants are Russian nationals who held visas issued by the Consulate General of Greece in Moscow. They alleged that employees of the consulate had been bribed by Russian traffickers and had issued visas enabling the applicants to be brought to Greece for the purpose of sexual exploitation. In late 2003 the applicants were recognised as victims of human trafficking. The authorities instituted two sets of criminal proceedings against the individuals directly involved in exploiting the applicants, and also proceedings concerning the issuing of the visas. The applicants complained of a number of shortcomings in those proceedings and of the involvement of the consular employees in exploiting them.
Law – Article 4: At the material time, human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation did not constitute a separate criminal offence. As the lesser indictable offence of human trafficking had a shorter limitation period, the Indictments Division of the Criminal Court had terminated the proceedings against two of the accused on the grounds that the prosecution was time-barred. Hence, the legal framework governing those proceedings had not been effective or sufficient either to punish the traffickers or to ensure effective prevention of human trafficking.
As to the proceedings concerning the issuing of the visas, the opening of an investigation had not been ordered until approximately nine months after the applicants had brought the facts of the case to the attention of the public prosecutor at the criminal court responsible for matters relating to human trafficking. The security directorate of the police had forwarded the case file to the competent prosecutor approximately two years and seven months after receiving it, and the preliminary investigation stage had lasted for over three years. While it was true that the investigation in question had been somewhat complex, since it had been necessary to hear witness evidence from several victims of human trafficking, the length of time taken appeared on the face of it to be excessive. Moreover, it had resulted in prosecution of the offences of forgery and the use of forged documents becoming statute-barred.
Turning to the question of the applicants’ participation in the proceedings in question, all but one of the attempts to serve the summonses to appear as witnesses had failed because the applicants were not known at the addresses used. Although the investigating judge, who had tried to trace the applicants, had not remained inactive, there was nothing to explain why no attempt had been made to find the applicants at the address they had given in their applications to join the proceedings as civil parties.
Regard being had in particular to the information available on the phenomenon of human trafficking in Russia and Greece at the material time, and given the seriousness of the applicants’ allegations and the fact that they had accused public officials of involvement in human-trafficking networks, the authorities had been under a duty to act with special diligence in order to verify that the visa applications had been subjected to detailed scrutiny before the visas were issued and thus to dispel the doubts as to the probity of the public officials.
The competent authorities had not dealt with the case with the level of diligence required by Article 4, and the applicants had not been involved in the investigation to the extent required under the procedural limb of that provision.
Conclusion: violation (unanimously).
Article 41: EUR 15,000 to each of the applicants in respect of non-pecuniary damage.
(See also L.E. v. Greece, 71545/12, 21 January 2016, Information Note 192; Chowdury and Others v. Greece, 21884/15, 30 March 2017, Information Note 205; and the Factsheet on Trafficking in human beings)
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This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.
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