Communicated on 2 April 2014
THIRD SECTION
Application no. 68123/12
Attila BERKI
against Romania
lodged on 23 October 2012
STATEMENT OF FACTS
The applicant, Mr Attila Berki, is a Romanian national, who was born in 1980 and lives in Moftinu Mic.
A. The circumstances of the case
The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows.
The applicant was placed in detention in the Satu Mare Prison on 20 October 2011 and was released on parole on 30 July 2013.
He describes the overall conditions of his detention as follows: overcrowded cells, insufficient ventilation, lack of hygiene and poor quality of food. In particular he outlines that his first cell measured 6 m by 8 m, it was 3.2 m high and contained seventeen beds constantly occupied at full capacity; the second cell where he has been held into measured 10 m by 4 m, it was 3.5 m high and contained twenty beds constantly occupied at full capacity; as for the third cell where the applicant has been held into, it measured 12 m by 4 m, it was 4 m high and contained twenty-two beds constantly occupied at full capacity. According to the applicant, the cells did not meet the due requirements of cubic content of air, they were dirty and full of bedbugs and he did not have the possibility to clean himself after a working day due to the lack of hot water. The applicant also complains about being put to sleep on top of a bunk bed which was not equipped with a protection bar in order to prevent a possible fall.
Similar complaints raised by the applicant before the delegate judge were dismissed by a decision of 11 January 2013. The delegate judge noted that the cell where the applicant was detained was indeed overcrowded, but took into consideration the fact that the applicant has benefitted from a large number of out-of-cell activities. As for the existence of bedbugs, the delegate judge considered that there was no sufficient evidence in support of the alleged lack of interest on behalf of the prison authorities in maintaining the cells clean. Lastly, the delegate judge dismissed the applicant’s complaint about the lack of safety of his bed, noting that he has not proved to have requested the prison’s administration to provide him with a protection bar.
By a final decision of 28 February 2013 the Satu Mare District Court dismissed as tardy the applicant’s contestation against the decision delivered on 11 January 2013 by the delegate judge.
B. Relevant domestic law and international standards
Excerpts from the relevant domestic provisions and from the international standards concerning the rights of detainees are quoted in Iacov Stanciu v. Romania, no. 35972/05, §§ 116‑117, §§ 120-124, 24 July 2012.
COMPLAINT
The applicant complains under Article 3 of the Convention about the conditions of his detention in the Satu Mare Prison.
QUESTION TO THE PARTIES
Were the conditions of detention during the applicant’s stay in the Satu Mare Prison in breach of the requirements of Article 3 of the Convention?
The Government are invited to provide information on the material conditions of the applicant’s detention in the Satu Mare Prison, in particular as regards the size and occupancy as well as the cleanliness and facilities of the cells in which he has been held.
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