THIRD SECTION
DECISION
Applications nos. 19746/17 and 40496/17
Sergey Valeryevich BOGDANOV against Russia
and Eduard Vyacheslavovich PIMASHIN against Russia
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting on 5 July 2018 as a Committee composed of:
Alena Poláčková, President,
Dmitry Dedov,
Jolien Schukking, judges,
and Liv Tigerstedt, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table,
Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent Government and the observations in reply submitted by the applicants,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The list of applicants is set out in the appended table.
The applicants’ complaints under Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention were communicated to the Russian Government (“the Government”).
THE LAW
A. Joinder of the applications
Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.
B. Complaints under Article 3 of the Convention
1. Application no. 19746/17
The Government submitted that the applicant, Mr Bogdanov (application no. 19746/17), had applied to the Court belatedly as his detention had ended on 15 November 2016. They supported their argument with official records. The applicant did not object.
The Court notes that the applicant lodged his application on 7 June 2017, which is more than six months after the end of his detention in the facility of which he complained (see appended table for further details).
Having regard to this fact, his application is inadmissible for non-compliance with the six-month rule and should therefore be rejected pursuant to Article 35 §§ 1 and 4 of the Convention.
2. Application no. 40496/17
The Court reiterates that it adopts conclusions after evaluating all the evidence, including such inferences as may flow from the facts and the parties’ submissions. According to its established case-law, proof may follow from the coexistence of sufficiently strong, clear and concordant inferences or of similar unrebutted presumptions of fact (see, for example, Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, § 121, 10 January 2012). In cases regarding conditions of detention the burden of proof may, under certain circumstances, be shifted to the authorities (see Salman v. Turkey [GC], no. 21986/93, § 100, ECHR 2000-VII; see also Mathew v. the Netherlands, no. 24919/03, § 156, ECHR 2005 IX). Nevertheless, an applicant must provide an elaborate and consistent account of the conditions of his or her detention, mentioning the specific elements which would enable the Court to determine that the complaint is not manifestly ill-founded or inadmissible on any other grounds.
In the present case, the Government contended that the applicant had been afforded adequate personal space and had an individual sleeping place. They also confirmed that the facility had a properly functioning ventilation system and that cells had windows giving sufficient access to light and natural air. The Government relied on the information provided by the prison authorities and excerpts from prisons’ population registers accounting for the applicant’s detention.
The Court is satisfied that the excerpts are original documents which were prepared during the periods under the examination and which showed the actual number of inmates present in the facility on relevant dates. The Court also notes that the excerpts from the registers demonstrate that at the relevant time the detention facility was not overcrowded.
Having assessed the evidence presented by the parties in its entirety, the Court gives credence to the primary documents produced by the Government and rejects the applicant’s allegations as unsubstantiated.
Taking into account the cumulative effect of the conditions of the applicant’s detention, the Court does not consider that the conditions reached the threshold of severity required to characterise the treatment as inhuman or degrading within the meaning of Article 3 of the Convention.
In view of the above, the Court finds that the complaints about the conditions of detention as described in application no. 40496/17 (see appended table below) are manifestly ill-founded and must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 and 4 of the Convention.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to join the applications;
Declares the applications inadmissible.
Done in English and notified in writing on 26 July 2018.
Liv TigerstedtAlena Poláčková
Acting Deputy RegistrarPresident
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention
(inadequate conditions of detention)
No.
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant name
Date of birth
Facility
Start and end date
Duration
Sq. m. per inmate
Specific grievances
19746/17
07/06/2017
Sergey Valeryevich Bogdanov
02/05/1974
SIZO-1 Ekaterinburg
19/02/2016 to 15/11/2016
8 month(s) and 28 day(s)
20 inmate(s)
1.5 m²
Infestation of cell with insects/rodents, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, no or restricted access to shower, overcrowding, poor quality of food, sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease.
40496/17
15/05/2017
Eduard Vyacheslavovich Pimashin
18/09/1975
SIZO-3 Rzhev, Tver Region
13/01/2016 to 23/01/2017
1 year(s) and 11 day(s)
4 inmate(s)
3.7 m²
Lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air.
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