issued by the Registrar of the Court
ECHR 152 (2015)
07.05.2015
Judgments and decisions of 7 May 2015
The European Court of Human Rights has today notified in writing five judgments1 and 11 decisions2:
two Chamber judgments are summarised below; for two others, in the cases of Emin Huseynov
v. Azerbaijan (application no. 59135/09) and S.L. and J.L. v. Croatia (no. 13712/11), separate press
releases have been issued;
one Committee judgment, which concerns issues which have already been submitted to the Court,
The judgments below are available only in English.
Ilievska v. “The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” (application
no. 20136/11)
The applicant, Marina Ilievska, is a Macedonian national who was born in 1976 and lives in Kriva
Palanka (“The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”). Her case concerned the manner in which
she had been taken to a psychiatric hospital in Skopje.
In 2009 Ms Ilievska’s husband requested medical assistance from Kriva Palanka hospital for his wife
who he claimed was anxious and distressed. Dr M. and Dr C.T instructed that she be sent to a
psychiatric clinic in Skopje and two police officers and a nurse went in an ambulance to fetch her. Ms
Ilievska did not wish to go and so the police forcibly dragged her away from her children and into the
ambulance. Ms Ilievska’s husband assisted them. Ms Ilievska claims that the police officers put her in
handcuffs, beat her, and sat on her legs during the 110 km journey to Skopje although the police
officers claim that they used only the degree of restraint necessary to prevent Ms Ilievska from
harming herself or others. She was discharged from the psychiatric hospital a few days later at her
husband’s request, apparently without having been examined or treated. She was then admitted to
the Kriva Palanka hospital where doctors noted that she had various injuries, probably caused by
blows. In 2010 Ms Ilievska brought criminal charges against Dr C.T, the nurse and the police officers
who had been in the ambulance. However they were acquitted and the trial court’s decision was
subsequently upheld on appeal.
Relying on Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on
Human Rights, Ms Ilievska complained about the brutal treatment she alleged she had been
subjected to by the police officers during her transfer from Kriva Palanka to Skopje.
Violation of Article 3 (degrading treatment) – on account of Ms Ilievska’s handcuffing during her
transfer from Kriva Palanka to Bardovci hospital in Skopje
Just satisfaction: 5,000 euros (EUR) (non-pecuniary damage) and EUR 300 (costs and expenses)
1
Under Articles 43 and 44 of the Convention, Chamber judgments are not final. During the three-month period following a Chamber
judgment’s delivery, any party may request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber of the Court. If such a request is made, a
panel of five judges considers whether the case deserves further examination. In that event, the Grand Chamber will hear the case and
deliver a final judgment. If the referral request is refused, the Chamber judgment will become final on that day. Under Article 28 of the
Convention, judgments delivered by a Committee are final.
Once a judgment becomes final, it is transmitted to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for supervision of its execution.
Further information about the execution process can be found here: www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/execution
2 Inadmissibility and strike-out decisions are final.
