2 ANGUELOVA v. BULGARIA JUDGMENT 6. By a decision of 6 June 2000, having regard to all the submissions of the parties on the admissibility and merits of the case, the Chamber constituted within that Section in accordance with Rule 26 § 1 declared the application admissible [Note by the Registry. The Court's decision is obtainable from the Registry]. 7. On 1 November 2001 the Court changed the composition of its Sections (Rule 25 § 1). This case was assigned to the newly composed First Section (Rule 52 § 1). 8. The Chamber constituted within that Section decided, after consulting the parties, that no hearing on the merits was required (Rule 59 § 2 in fine). The applicant, but not the Government, filed observations on the merits (Rule 59 § 1). THE FACTS I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE 9. The applicant, Mrs Assya Anguelova, is a Bulgarian national who was born in 1959 and lives in Razgrad. 10. On 29 January 1996 her son, Anguel Zabchekov, aged 17, who had been known to the police as a suspect on theft charges, died after having spent several hours in police custody in Razgrad following his arrest for attempted theft. The ensuing investigations conducted by the prosecution authorities ended with the conclusion that the death must have been caused by an accidental injury which pre-dated Mr Zabchekov's arrest. The applicant contested that conclusion. The applicant describes herself and her late son as belonging to the Roma/Gypsy ethnic group). A. Evidence about the whereabouts of Mr Zabchekov on 28 January 1996 11. According to the statements of several witnesses, on 28 January 1996 Mr Zabchekov spent part of the day doing some odd jobs for a neighbour. In the evening he went home for a while and then went out with his sister, her boyfriend and a Mr M., another friend of his. He then spent most of the evening in their company at a local bar. He consumed alcohol. At about 10.30 p.m. or 11.30 p.m. Mr Zabchekov's sister and her boyfriend left the bar, leaving him there with Mr M. The bar closed shortly afterwards. Mr M. stated that he had then left the bar with Mr Zabchekov and that they had parted at the door, Mr M. returning home.