The decision was made after a lawyer complained to the ombudsman that the DIP had routinely closed cases of police brutality without conducting any investigations or elementary operations, including even locating the complainant.
The lawyer stated that he was severely abused during an investigation and was beaten and humiliated while handcuffed to the floor in front of his girlfriend, who also allegedly experienced police brutality.
The DIP sent a letter to the complainant inviting him to file a complaint, but sent the letter to the wrong address and closed the case when the letter was returned by the postal service, stating that the complaint had been dropped.
The director of the DIP addressed the issue, stating that the letter was sent to the address listed in the details of the suspect as registered in the Interior Ministry, but that a letter was mistakenly omitted in the address.
The ombudsman found the complaint to be justified as the letter had been sent to an incorrect address and the DIP should have done its best to locate the suspect, especially considering that the suspect's phone number was provided to the department as well.
"Beyond sending a letter by registered mail to the wrong address of one of the attacked citizens, the DIP did not take any steps to examine and see if there was really a complaint or not," wrote the ombudsman. "This factual picture should not have occurred as it did."
The ombudsman decided to recommend to the DIP that they draw lessons from the case to prevent its recurrence.