ANGUELOVA v. BULGARIA JUDGMENT
7
him and put him back on the chair, thinking that “he might catch a cold”. H
further stated that at about 3.50 a.m. he had again gone to see
Mr Zabchekov who had been sitting on the chair, sleeping and shivering. H
had decided to move him back to office no. 1, where it had been warmer. He
had woken him and helped him enter the room. Shortly afterwards
Mr Zabchekov had slipped from the chair. H had noticed that he had been
breathing heavily. H stated that at that point he had contacted Sergeant
Dontchev (“J”), and had told him “to call Sergeant Penchev [A] or an
ambulance”.
33. J stated that, in accordance with the duty schedule, he had slept on
the premises of the police station until 2 a.m. on 29 January 1996, when he
had been woken for duty. He had not been informed that anyone was being
detained. J's statement did not mention whether, between 2 a.m. and 3.50
a.m., he had gone down the passage where, at that time, according to H,
Mr Zabchekov had been sleeping on a chair. J stated that he had only
become aware of Mr Zabchekov's presence when at 3.50 a.m. H had
reported that the boy's condition seemed to be deteriorating. J had then seen
him, noticing injuries on his forehead, and had called A and B by radio.
34. At approximately the same time H or J had alerted Colonel I, the
senior officer on duty. I stated that at that moment he had noticed injuries on
Mr Zabchekov's face.
35. A and B stated that at 4.30 a.m. they had been contacted by radio
and had been told that Mr Zabchekov's condition was rapidly deteriorating.
Arriving at the police station, the sergeants had seen Mr Zabchekov lying on
the ground, breathing heavily. B had then driven to the hospital and had
returned, with Dr Mihailov, the paediatrician on duty, following in an
ambulance.
36. Dr Mihailov later stated that at about 5 a.m. the hospital employee in
charge of emergencies had asked him to go to the police station “for a 15year-old boy”. Dr Mihailov explained that he had seen that employee
talking to the police officers. He also pointed out that he had not been given
any prior information about the boy's condition.
37. Dr Mihailov examined Mr Zabchekov at the police station and
advised that he should be taken to hospital as his pulse rate was low.
Mr Zabchekov was driven to the hospital in the ambulance, with A and B
following in their police car. When they arrived at the hospital, A and B
helped to bring Mr Zabchekov to the corridor in front of the office of the
doctor on duty. According to the statements of A and B, when
Mr Zabchekov was examined several minutes later by Dr Ivanova, the
internist on duty, there had followed a heated discussion between her and
Dr Mihailov. The police officers had then been informed that Mr Zabchekov
had died.