4.  The applicant was born in 1968 and lives in Novomoskovsk. 5.  At about 5.30 p.m. on 1 August 2004 a fight took place involving the applicant, Z. and Sh. On 15 November 2005 the Novomoskovsk Court convicted the applicant of gang hooliganism committed against Z. and Sh., and gave him a suspended prison sentence of three years. On 10 February and 19 December 2006 respectively the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court upheld the applicant’s conviction and sentence. According to the applicant, his conviction had been based on an incorrect assessment of the evidence. 6.  At about 7 p.m. on 1 August 2004 a group of people, including Z. and Sh. and two volunteer citizen guards (добровільна народна дружина), who were identified in the course of the ensuing proceedings (see paragraphs 9-11 below), entered the yard of the applicant’s house and, according to the applicant, assaulted him. In particular, he was punched, hit with a gas pistol and kicked in the head and torso and as a result briefly lost consciousness. According to the material available in the case (see paragraph 9 below), the volunteer citizen guards used force against the applicant while exercising their powers under the relevant regulations (see paragraph 13 below) in an attempt to take him to a police station in relation to the incident of 1 August 2004 (see paragraph 5 above). 7.  Subsequently, the applicant was admitted to Novomoskovsk Central Hospital, where a physician found two bruises near the applicant’s right eye, a wound on the back of his head and numerous abrasions on the right side of his back. The applicant was also diagnosed with concussion. During subsequent examinations by a forensic expert in December 2004 and April 2006, the applicant was found to have developed post-traumatic otitis media. The applicant’s injuries were classified as being partly minor and partly moderate. 8.  On 1 August 2004 the applicant filed a complaint with the Novomoskovsk police, seeking to have criminal proceedings instituted against those who had beaten him. 9.  The applicant’s complaint was examined initially by the police and later by prosecutors. Between December 2004 and March 2009 they issued a number of decisions rejecting the applicant’s complaint, finding, inter alia, that the applicant had been injured after disobeying the lawful orders of the volunteer citizen guards, who had lawfully resorted to force in order to take him to a police station in relation to the incident of 1 August 2004 (see paragraph 5 above). Those decisions were overturned by different courts, which considered, principally, that the applicant’s complaint had not been examined thoroughly. 10.  On 12 March 2009 the Novomoskovsk Prosecutor opened criminal proceedings related to the applicant’s complaint and ordered the police to investigate the incident of 1 August 2004 at the applicant’s house. 11.  In the course of the investigation the two volunteer citizen guards who had taken part in the incident on 1 August 2004 at the applicant’s house died. For that reason, the proceedings concerning those two people were terminated on 17 July 2009. On the same date the police terminated the proceedings concerning Z. and Sh., finding that there had been no elements of a crime in their actions. The police noted that two witnesses had stated that the volunteer citizen guards who had died had beaten the applicant on 1 August 2004. 12.  On 16 December 2009 the police suspended the investigation, finding that it was impossible to identify any other people involved in the incident of 1 August 2004 at the applicant’s home. No further investigation was carried out.