ELCI AND OTHERS v. TURKEY JUDGMENT 42 systematic ill-treatment. Five or six people had said they had breathing difficulties. He began examining one or two of them with a stethoscope, whereupon the others decided not to be examined and withdrew their complaints. 286. They were all examined stripped to the waist. They were asked whether they had any marks on their bodies and they were told that, if there were, he would make a detailed examination. Apart from the bruised knee mentioned above, no one complained of any visible marks, although they all said they had been beaten. He saw no such marks himself. It was rare that he was presented with such a case and, when he was, he recorded it. The same day he re-examined Hüsniye Ölmez and Meral Daniş Beştaş who complained that they had been struck on their buttocks, but Dr Eğilmez found no marks. 287. He acknowledged certifying three days later, on 13 December 1993, two bruises on the lower knee of Hüsniye Ölmez. It had escaped his attention in the two earlier examinations because it was not shown to him. Sometimes ladies are reluctant to reveal parts of their bodies. 288. Hüsniye Ölmez had been examined on the 13 December 1993 in the company of Meral Daniş Beştaş. There were no marks on the latter. Another doctor had certified that Mrs Beştaş was suffering from pneumonia, which she had not mentioned to Dr Eğilmez on 10 December 1993. At that stage one would have expected her to show a fever, coughing and phlegm. However, she made no complaint. 289. Pneumonia is not a traumatic lesion. It can be contracted after catching cold and is often preceded by bronchitis. It would take about a week to develop and would induce fever. An x-ray would be needed to establish the condition and hospital treatment would also normally be required. 290. Dr Eğilmez could not remember how the applicants looked whether the men were clean-shaven, unwashed or the like. He did remember, however, that they did not look tired, worn out or feverish. 291. As a forensic doctor his task was to record findings, not to take a patient's medical history or make a clinical examination. This is why he did not note people's general complaints and why he would only record visible marks. 292. If a man had had his testicles squeezed and had complained to him of that fact, Dr Eğilmez would have expected to see sensitivity in the genital area, reddening and swelling. None of the male lawyers complained of this, and he would not have examined genitalia unless asked to do so by a complainant. 293. The first question addressed in such examinations was whether there were any signs of blows, force or violence. However, if the individual was found to be suffering from an illness, such as a fever or heart condition, he would have noted the need for follow-up treatment in his report.