A. v. Russia (Application no. 37735/09)

A selection of key paragraphs can be found below the document.

56.  The Court has previously found in the case of Gutsanovi that the possible presence of children, whose young age makes them psychologically vulnerable, at the scene of an arrest is a factor to be taken into consideration in planning and carrying out this kind of operation (see Gutsanovi v. Bulgaria, no. 34529/10, § 132, ECHR 2013 (extracts)). In that case the Court found that the fact that the police operation had taken place in the early hours of the morning and had involved special agents wearing masks had served to heighten the feelings of fear and anxiety experienced by the children who had witnessed their father’s arrest, to the extent that the treatment to which they had been subjected exceeded the threshold of severity required for Article 3 to apply, amounting to degrading treatment (ibid., § 134).