Judgment concerning Italy
In the case of Intranuovo v. Italy the Court held that there had been a violation of the right to life/lack of effective investigation.
The case concerned the death of the applicant’s son, A.D., who had been serving in the Italian army, following an alleged fall from a window in the army barracks in which he had been stationed. During the investigation that followed, the applicant argued there were a number of factors that cast serious doubt on the initial conclusion that A.D.’s death was a result of suicide by jumping and that, rather, they indicated foul play.
The Court found that the investigation into A.D.’s death had been ineffective and that the Italian authorities had not sufficiently satisfied the burden of proof resting on it to provide a satisfactory and convincing explanation as regards the circumstances of A.D.’s death. In particular, the investigative authorities had not taken reasonable and sufficient steps to secure the relevant evidence, nor had they made a proper attempt to establish the facts.