22
TSALIKIDIS AND OTHERS v. GREECE JUDGMENT
Mr Tsalikidis’ death both at the initial stage and following the applicants’
request for the reopening of the case file in 2012.
73. The Government maintained that the applicants were in essence
complaining about the assessment of the evidence by the domestic
authorities, disregarding the fact that the Court is not a court of fourth
instance. The Government further argued that the applicants had based their
allegations concerning the ineffectiveness of the investigation merely on a
fragmentary assessment of the evidence collected whilst it was being
conducted. However, the public prosecutor at the Athens Court of First
Instance − who on 16 June 2014 upheld the conclusion set out in
order 80/06 that there was no evidence of any criminal offence − had taken
due account of all the evidence, including the reports drawn up – with great
delay − by the applicants’ technical advisors.
74. In addition, the two forensic reports prepared by S.K. and Th.V. had
not been convincing as they had not been identical and had not included
reliable evidence which could have called into question the conclusions of
the first autopsy report drawn up by G.D.L. In particular, S.K. had relied on
partial evidence, without having examined the body or having first-hand
knowledge of the case file. He had included comments not normally found
in forensic reports − such as the fact that the deceased had expressed fears
for his safety during the weeks preceding his death − and he had disregarded
some of the material in the case file. In particular, he had commented in his
report the absence of cadaveric hypostases in the legs of the deceased as an
indication that the deceased had not been hanged; however, he had failed to
notice that the body had been found only few hours after hanging which
could have explained the absence of any such signs. S.K.’s statement that
the knot had been fairly complex had been based on pictures of dubious
origin and clarity and had been contradictory to the statement by F.K., who
had expressed the view that the knot had been a simple. In general, his
conclusions had been ambiguous.
75. As regards the forensic report drawn up by Th.V, the Government
claimed that it had been vague and had not provided specific evidence
which could have called into question the conclusions of the initial autopsy.
In addition, Th.V.’s remark that the lack of any injuries caused by
after-death body spasms had been strange had not been well-founded since
the body had not been hanging near walls which could have caused such
injuries.
76. As regards the psychiatric report, the Government argued that it had
been prepared by a psychiatrist who had never met Mr Tsalikidis and had
been based on the testimonies of relatives and friends, without taking into
account their psychological state following the death of a loved one. But
even in those circumstances, the psychiatrist had not excluded the
possibility that Mr Tsalikidis might have committed suicide.