Kaçiu and Kotorri v. Albania 
| 2013
[Olsi Kaçiu's] beating was of such severity that he had to be carried to the court room by police officers.
Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, July 2013
Olsi Kaçiu was tortured whilst in police custody. He was forced to give a statement incriminating someone in a crime. The statement was then used against Mr Kaçiu at trial, as evidence that he had failed to report the crime. He was sentenced to two years in prison.
The European court found that Mr Kaçiu had been tortured by police until he could not walk or stand. Given that the criminal prosecution against him had been based solely on evidence obtained through this torture, his trial and conviction had been unfair. This breached his basic rights.
As a result of Olsi Kaçiu's case and others, the government introduced legal changes as well as practical and awareness-raising measures. These were all designed to prevent ill-treatment of detainees and the use of evidence obtained as a result.
The reforms included a change to the Criminal Code of Procedure in 2013 to establish the right to access a lawyer when first detained in police custody; a 2014 amendment to the law on the rights of remand prisoners, to introduce clear rules about their treatment; and a new Code of Ethics for prison officers in 2015.
Mentally handicapped Miss Y. was sexually abused the night after her sixteenth birthday. Y.’s father tried to bring a criminal prosecution against the attacker, but Dutch law stated that only the victim could start such a prosecution. Y.’s condition meant she could not do this, so her attacker was not brought to justice. The European court ruled that this violated her basic rights.
Aged 24, Hoda Jabari was suspected of adultery in Iran. The crime could be punished by stoning to death. Hoda fled to Istanbul. However, the Turkish authorities decided to send her back. The European court prevented her from being returned to face a possible stoning. Hoda was allowed to stay in Turkey and eventually leave to seek a new life in Canada.
From the age of 14, Henriette Akofa Siliadin was kept in domestic servitude. She worked all day, 7 days a week for over 4 years, for no pay. The people responsible could not be properly brought to justice, because French law had not criminalised their actions. The case helped bring about legal reforms to combat human trafficking.
Albania
Netherlands
Türkiye
France