5.  The applicant was born in 1963 and lives in Elbasan, Albania. He is the brother of Sh.P., born in 1973. Sh.P. died on 22 February 2011.
6.  On 29 March 2010 the Shkodër District Court sentenced Sh.P. to four years’ imprisonment for attempted murder. The trial was held in absentia. On 2 December 2010 the Shkodër Court of Appeal upheld the Shkodër District Court’s decision. On 3 February 2011 the latter decision was executed and Sh.P. was sent to serve his prison sentence in the Lezhë detention facility.
7.  It appears from the case file that Sh.P. was diagnosed by the doctor of the Lezhë detention facility as suffering from psoriasis, parapanesis inferior (partial paralysis of both legs) and elephantiasis. On 9 February 2011 Sh.P. was urgently transferred to Tirana Prison Hospital (Qendra Spitalore e Burgjeve) because according to the doctor of the Lezhë detention facility, he could not be properly treated in an ordinary prison setting. On 17 February 2011 he was transferred to Tirana University Hospital Centre (Qendra Spitalore Universitare Tiranë). It appears from the hospital file of 17 February 2011 that the applicant’s brother had been diagnosed with elephantiasis, morbid obesity and multi-organ insufficiency, and was prescribed medication.
8.  It appears that on 22 February 2011 Sh.P. died in the intensive care unit of Tirana University Hospital.
9.  On 22 February 2011 a group composed of a judicial police officer, a criminalist and a forensic medical expert carried out an on-site investigation (kqyrjen e vendit të ngjarjes) at Tirana University Hospital Centre and an external examination of the corpse (kqyrjen e kufomës) of Sh.P, and took photographs at the scene. On the same day, the judicial police officer seized Sh.P’s medical file (sekuestroi kartelën klinike) kept at Tirana University Hospital Centre.
10.  On 22 February 2011 the judicial police officer in charge of the case ordered a forensic examination of Sh.P. and put the following questions to the forensic medical experts:
“1. What kind of injuries were noticeable on the deceased?
11.  On 22 February 2011 the applicant was questioned as a person with knowledge of the event. He stated that his family members had informed him that his brother was being sent to Lezhë detention facility. On 17 February 2011 his mother had told him that his brother had fallen ill and was being transferred to the hospital in Tirana. When he had arrived at the hospital he had found his brother unconscious and tied to the bed with the sheets. He had noticed that the mattress and the blankets were wet and that the area around the bed was very dirty. At approximately 6 a.m. on 22 February 2011, his sister had called him to say that their brother’s condition had deteriorated. When he had arrived at the hospital, he had found his brother dead. He added that he wanted to know the cause of his brother’s death.
12.  On 25 February 2011 the judicial police officer in charge looked at the admissions register of Tirana Prison Hospital, where it was recorded that Sh.P. had been transferred to that facility on 9 February 2011.
13.  On 9 March 2011 and again on 25 March 2011 the Tirana prosecutor’s office requested Sh.P.’s file from the Lezhë detention facility. On 21 March 2011 the Lezhë detention facility replied by letter stating that the applicant had been suffering from dyspnea, his lower limbs had both had oedemas, and that he had therefore been urgently transferred to Tirana Prison Hospital. In addition, they attached Sh.P.’s prison file.
14.  On 10 March 2011, the prosecutor in charge of the case ordered a series of investigative actions to be carried out by a judicial police officer:
“(1)  to contact forensic experts who would carry out a forensic examination to find out the cause of death of the deceased; (2)  to seize the criminal and medical files of Sh.P. from the prison facilities, as well as from the hospital; (3)  to search the registers of the Tirana Prison Hospital, Tirana University Hospital and Shkodër civilian hospital in order to find out when he had been hospitalised, what the diagnosis had been, how long he had stayed, etc.; the pages of the register relevant to the search would have to be attached to the report; (4)  to question Tirana prison employees, medical staff who had taken care of Sh.P., and his family members about his medical history, his treatment, when he had last been hospitalised, etc.; and (5)  to carry out any other action which might be deemed necessary before 29 March 2011.”
15.  On 25 March 2011 I.O., one of the doctors who had been taking care of the applicant’s brother in the hospital, when questioned by the judicial police officer, stated that while under their supervision Sh.P. had been manifesting respiratory and hepatic insufficiency. According to him, Sh.P. had been diagnosed with multi-organ insufficiency and morbid obesity. Sh.P. had been treated like any other patient and the treatment prescribed had been administered in accordance with the rules.
16.  On 25 March 2011 P.D., one of the doctors who had been taking care of the applicant’s brother in the hospital, when questioned by the judicial police officer, stated that Sh.P. had been transferred to Tirana Prison Hospital from Lezhë prison hospital. He had been treated like any other patient and the treatment prescribed had been administered in accordance with the rules.
17.  On 30 March 2011 a group of forensic experts carried out an examination of Sh.P. The forensic medical report stated, inter alia:
“...1. Two ecchymoses were noticed on both forearms. Oedemas on the lower extremities. Psoriasis. ... 2. ... Ecchymosis caused by blunt objects (sende të mbrehëta). Rest of the lesions are a consequence of the other illnesses of the deceased ... 4. ... The death of Sh.P. was a result of acute cardio-respiratory insufficiency due to complications of the generalised metabolic illness of the deceased ... 5. With regard to the question whether Sh.P. underwent a negligent medical treatment, this would be the subject of an inquiry by another forensic medical commission once they had the investigative file at their disposal ...”
18.  On 24 February 2011 the police reported Sh.P.’s death to the Tirana prosecutor’s office, which registered it in a criminal file. After having carried out some investigative actions, on 13 April 2011 the Tirana prosecutor’s office decided not to institute criminal proceedings (mosfillimin e procedimit penal) and to give notice of that decision to the interested parties. The decision was based on the medical report of 30 March 2011, which had found that the death of Sh.P. had been the result of acute respiratory and cardiac insufficiency and other diseases. Furthermore, the decision stated that there was no fact, evidence or indication that a criminal offence could have been committed. On 13 May 2011 the applicant was notified of the Tirana prosecutor’s decision.
19.  On 17 May 2011, the applicant lodged a complaint with the Tirana District Court against the decision of the Tirana prosecutor’s office. On 20 October 2011 the Tirana District Court rejected the applicant’s complaint on the grounds that he did not have legal standing to complain against the impugned decision, because he had only been notified of it as a family member of the deceased. The first-instance court also stated that under Article 291 of the Criminal Procedural Code, only the persons who had reported an offence could complain against a decision not to institute criminal proceedings.
20.  On 20 April 2012 the Tirana Court of Appeal upheld the Tirana District Court’s decision of 20 October 2011. On 23 January 2014 the Supreme Court rejected an appeal lodged by the applicant. On 17 November 2015 the Constitutional Court rejected the applicant’s complaints against the ordinary domestic courts’ decisions, with the argument that the statutory denial of standing to challenge the prosecutor’s decision did not violate the essence of the applicant’s right of access to a court.
21.  On 16 February 2015 the applicant reported the death of his brother to the Tirana prosecutor’s office. On 27 March 2015 the Tirana prosecutor’s office decided not to institute criminal proceedings based on the applicant’s report. On an unspecified date the applicant lodged a complaint with the Tirana District Court about the above-mentioned decision. On 18 November 2015, the Tirana District Court, making reference to the first set of proceedings and evidence used in those proceedings, decided without hearing the applicant to reject his complaint.