44 GIULIANI AND GAGGIO v. ITALY JUDGMENT participation in torture, can be investigated, prosecuted and punished without time limitations.” THE LAW I. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 2 OF THE CONVENTION IN ITS SUBSTANTIVE ASPECT 157. The applicants complained that Carlo Giuliani had been killed by the law-enforcement agencies and that the authorities had not safeguarded his life. They relied on Article 2 of the Convention, which provides: “1. Everyone's right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law. 2. Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in contravention of this article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary: (a) in defence of any person from unlawful violence; (b) in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained; (c) in action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot or insurrection.” A. Whether the use of lethal force was justified 158. The applicants submitted first of all that in the specific circumstances of the case the use of lethal force by M.P. had not been “absolutely necessary” in order to achieve the aims enumerated in the second paragraph of Article 2 of the Convention. The Government contested that argument. 1. The parties' submissions (a) The applicants 159. The applicants pointed out that they had never subscribed to the “intermediate object theory”. According to their expert, Mr Gentile, the bullet had not fragmented on striking the victim's body (see paragraph 64 above). However, since the bullet was not available and neither the shape nor the dimensions of the “intermediate object” were known, it was