8 BOUYID v. BELGIUM JUDGMENT 2003 and 23 February 2004 to the new case that had been opened after the civil-party complaint of 5 February 2008, upheld the discontinuance order in a judgment that read as follows. “... The facts of the case can be summarised as follows: – On 8 December 2003 the defendant [A.Z.] is alleged to have engaged in illegal police conduct against the civil party Saïd Bouyid, described by the latter as follows: police officer [A.Z.], on stopping him outside his house, allegedly grabbed him by his jacket and tore it; he was then taken to the police station close by, where the same officer allegedly slapped him on the face with his right hand. – On 23 February 2004 the defendant [P.P.] is alleged to have engaged in illegal police conduct against the civil party Mohamed Bouyid, described by the latter as follows: on stopping his car in front of his house so that his mother could take out her shopping, he had a row with the driver of the car behind; he was summoned to the police station following a complaint by that driver; during the interview, Mohamed Bouyid was allegedly slapped by the defendant [P.P.] (see the medical certificate issued by Dr ...), who threatened to put him in a cell if he did not sign his statement, when in fact he wanted to change it. – The Bouyid family have apparently encountered great difficulties with certain members of the Saint-Josse-ten-Noode police force since March 1999, when police officer [B.] suspected [N.] Bouyid of having scratched his car, giving rise to a certain degree of tension and to persecution of this family by the police. – There is said to be constant provocation on the part of the police of Saint-Josseten-Noode making the life of the Bouyid family unbearable. Both the police’s internal oversight department for the police district [concerned] and the investigation department of Committee P conducted an in-depth investigation into the facts complained of by the civil parties. It transpires from all the findings of the judicial investigation, and in particular from the inconsistent statements of the parties in question, that there is no evidence against the defendants such as to justify their committal on the charges listed in the submissions of the Principal Crown Prosecutor, in respect of the period in which the offences were said to have been committed. The statements of the defendants, who deny the charges, are consistent; it is appropriate in this connection to refer to the detailed report concerning the general conduct of the civil parties’ family drawn up by Committee P, which sheds light on the general context of the case. The civil parties have not adduced before the court, sitting as the Indictments Division, any new, relevant and convincing information not previously brought to the attention of the court below and capable of revealing the slightest evidence against the defendants that might justify their committal for trial. Moreover, the judicial investigation did not bring to light sufficient evidence to show that a criminal offence had been committed by the defendants at the time of the incidents in which they were allegedly implicated. In addition, it does not appear from the case file that the provisions of section 37 of the Law of 5 August 1992 on police duties have not been complied with.