Zontul v Greece

The European Court of Human Rights has found that Mr Zontul, a Turkish national, was subjected to torture following an incident which occurred whilst he was detained by the Greek Coastguard. The Court held that although the perpetrator of the act of torture had been prosecuted, there was a clear mismatch between the gravity of the act and the penalty imposed such that, in this case, the Greek penal system did not have the desired deterrent effect. Accordingly, the Court decided that there had been a violation of the Applicant’s article 3 rights, both procedurally and substantively.

The Court awarded the Applicant €50,000, citing the seriousness of the violation and the lasting psychological damage of the Applicant’s treatment as reasons for the size of the award.

Tim Otty QC and Simon Pritchard for the Applicant