Background
Vladimir Kummer was a dental technician. One night in May 2010 he was walking home from a bar when he was stopped by police – allegedly for urinating in the street. The police asked for Mr Kummer’s identity card, which he said he could give them if they accompanied him to his house, which was 50 metres away.
Instead, Mr Kummer was taken to the local police station. He claimed that he was put in a cell, shackled, and punched in the back of the head and in the face. He was then left hanging from his outstretched arms, which were shackled to different walls. After 30 minutes in this agonising position, he was told to go home. As a result of his injuries, Mr Kummer was unable to work for 16 days.
A criminal investigation concluded that the police officers involved had not done anything wrong. A later report by the Ombudsman found that a police officer had committed a disciplinary offencebut there was no finding that Mr Kummer had been physically ill-treated.