Communicated on 27 January 2015
THIRD SECTION
Application no. 74441/14
Viorica BOTNARI
against the Republic of Moldova
lodged on 20 November 2014
STATEMENT OF FACTS
The applicant, Ms Viorica Botnari, is a Moldovan national, who was born in 1972 and is detained in Chişinău. She is represented before the Court by Mr A. Postica, a lawyer practising in Chişinău.
The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows.
On 26 February 2003 the applicant was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL – a type of blood cancer). This disease affected her spleen, bone marrow and the lymph nodes. She was also diagnosed with chronic Hepatitis.
On 17 March 2010 the applicant was arrested by the police and charged with fraud and forging official documents. She was placed in the detention centre of the General Directorate for Fighting Organised Crime of the Ministry of Interior (“GDFOC”).
According to the applicant, she was held in a cell situated underground with bad sanitary conditions, which had no heating system and no linen for the wood-covered stone platform which served as a bed. The food was provided only once a day and no drinking water was available. The medical treatment had been interrupted and the GDFOC’s administration refused to transfer her to a hospital.
On 4 April 2010 the applicant was transferred to Penitentiary No. 13. The applicant asserted that she had been detained in a cell with sixteen other inmates and had been subjected to passive smoking. She had not been provided with bedding and could not normally sleep. The cell was infested with vermin and the food was of a very poor quality. She had not been provided with medical assistance as required by her condition.
As a result of being detained in inhuman conditions her state of health seriously deteriorated. In both detention facilities there was no specialised oncology doctor, nor appropriate medication, while chemotherapy was unavailable. The applicant undertook the last chemotherapy session in a specialised civilian hospital in April 2013 while under house arrest.
The applicant’s lawyer inquired with the Penitentiary Department about the medical care received by the applicant while in detention, but the only answer was that the applicant has been registered as an oncology patient since 5 June 2013 and was provided with medical treatment according to her diagnosis.
On 10 June 2013 the Centru District Court found the applicant guilty as charged and sentenced her to thirteen years and six months of imprisonment. The case is pending before the Chisinau Court of Appeal.
COMPLAINTS
The applicant complains under Article 3 of the Convention that she was detained in inhuman conditions, which aggravated her health problems, and that she was not provided with appropriate medical care.
She also complains that she did not have, as required by Article 13 of the Convention, any effective remedies at her disposal for her complaints under Article 3.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Has there been a violation of Article 3 of the Convention? In particular, was the applicant held in inhuman or degrading conditions of detention?
2. Did the applicant receive an appropriate medical care in respect of her health problems, as required by Article 3 of the Convention?
3. Did the applicant have at her disposal an effective domestic remedy for her complaints under Article 3 regarding her conditions of detention and medical assistance, as required by Article 13 of the Convention?
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