FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 14902/15
Cosmin-Ioan BONICA
against Romania
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 11 October 2018 as a Committee composed of:
Georges Ravarani, President,
Marko Bošnjak,
Péter Paczolay, judges,
and Liv Tigerstedt, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 16 March 2015,
Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent Government,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The applicant’s details are set out in the appended table.
The applicant was represented by Mr R.V. Doseanu, residing in Oradea.
The applicant’s complaints under Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention were communicated to the Romanian Government (“the Government”).
THE LAW
The Court reiterates that it adopts conclusions after evaluating all the evidence, including such inferences as may flow form the facts and the parties’ submissions. According to its established case-law, proof may follow from the coexistence of sufficiently strong, clear and concordance 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 XI). 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, had requested permission to buy cigarettes several times and had access to a bathroom, which was separated from the rest of the room by a wall measuring 1.1 meters in height and a curtain hanging from the ceiling. The Government relied on information and excerpts relating to the applicant’s detention provided by the police authorities.
The Court is satisfied that the excerpts are original documents which were prepared during the period under 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 police authorities 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 regarding the conditions of detention as described by the applicant (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,
Declares the application inadmissible.
Done in English and notified in writing on 8 November 2018.
Liv TigerstedtGeorges Ravarani
Acting Deputy RegistrarPresident
APPENDIX
Application raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention
(inadequate conditions of detention)
No.
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant’s name
Date of birth
Representative’s name and location
Facility
Start and end date
Duration
Sq. m. per inmate
Specific grievances
14902/15
16/03/2015
Cosmin-Ioan Bonica
12/05/1975
Răzvan Viorel Doseanu
Oradea
Bihor County Police Arrest
01/07/2014 to
03/11/2014
4 months and 3 days
3.5-6.1 m²
overcrowding, passive smoking, lack of privacy for toilet
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