MOSCOW, February 17 - RAPSI. The European Court of Human Rights has awarded 45,000 euro to Vyacheslav Savin, an ethnic Russian living in Kharkiv, Ukraine, who was tortured by police, the court reports on its website.

Earlier, Savin claimed that the Ukrainian police summoned him for an interrogation as a witness in a fraud case in October 1999. He was tied up at the police station and beaten severely, as the police officers demanded that he admit to the crime. He was only released the next morning.

Savin said he suffered grave injuries to his head. Specifically, he said the beating resulted in a chronic convulsive disorder and nervous system problems.

According to Savin, two days after the beating, he went to see a doctor who said his injuries may have been caused by his stay at the police station. Savin had to undergo a lengthy course of treatment at the hospital and he also was hospitalized several times more over the next three years.

Savin lodged a complaint with the prosecutor's office, requesting the opening of a criminal case against the police officers who beat him. One suspect was found in 2008. He was later found guilty of abuse of power in 2010. However, the court relieved him of criminal liability as the statute of limitations had expired. The court refused to accept Savin's lawsuit against the defendant.

The European court said the police breached the articles on the prohibition of inhumane treatment and on the right to liberty and security in the European Convention on Human Rights.