In the case of B.U. v. The Czech Republic, a Turkish asylum-seeker alleged that he was subjected to ill-treatment by Czech police during his detention at Prague airport, where he was held for administrative expulsion proceedings. While the European Court of Human Rights could not definitively determine that the applicant had been mistreated, as the force used by the police was deemed proportionate, the Court did find that the Czech Republic had failed in its duty to properly investigate these claims. The Czech General Inspectorate of Security Forces (GIBS) did not interview the applicant about his complaint, failed to inform him of the investigation’s results, and ignored his request for evidence collection. This was deemed a breach of the procedural obligations under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The judgment, which became final on January 6, 2023, highlighted the systematic nature of such violations. As a result, BVMN urged the Committee of Ministers to classify the case under enhanced supervision. This recommendation was based on evidence of widespread human rights violations by Czech police officers, not only in the Czech Republic but also during operations in North Macedonia and Hungary. BVMN called for the Czech Republic to ensure more effective and independent investigations into alleged violations of Article 3, to address the underlying systemic issues.