THIRD SECTION
CASE OF BIBIK AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA
(Applications nos. 10602/17 and 8 others -
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
27 June 2019
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Bibik and Others v. Russia,
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Alena Poláčková, President,
Dmitry Dedov,
Gilberto Felici, judges,
and Liv Tigerstedt, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 6 June 2019,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
PROCEDURE
1. The case originated in applications against Russia lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on the various dates indicated in the appended table.
2. Notice of the applications was given to the Russian Government (“the Government”).
THE FACTS
3. The list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.
4. The applicants complained of the excessive length of their pre-trial detention. Some applicants also raised other complaints under the provisions of the Convention.
THE LAW
I. JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS
5. Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.
II. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 5 § 3 OF THE CONVENTION
6. The applicants complained principally that their pre-trial detention had been unreasonably long. They relied on Article 5 § 3 of the Convention, which reads as follows:
“3. Everyone arrested or detained in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 (c) of this Article shall be ... entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial. Release may be conditioned by guarantees to appear for trial.”
7. The Court observes that the general principles regarding the right to trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial, as guaranteed by Article 5 § 3 of the Convention, have been stated in a number of its previous judgments (see, among many other authorities, Kudła v. Poland [GC], no. 30210/96, § 110, ECHR 2000‑XI, and McKay v. the United Kingdom [GC], no. 543/03, §§ 41-44, ECHR 2006‑X, with further references).
8. In the leading case of Dirdizov v. Russia, no. 41461/10, 27 November 2012, the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.
9. Having examined all the material submitted to it, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion on the admissibility and merits of these complaints. Having regard to its case-law on the subject, the Court considers that in the instant case the length of the applicants’ pre-trial detention was excessive.
10. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention.
III. OTHER ALLEGED VIOLATIONS UNDER WELL-ESTABLISHED CASE-LAW
11. In applications nos. 10602/17 and 75217/17, the applicants also submitted complaints under Article 5 § 4 of the Convention (see details in the appended table). These complaints are not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 (a) of the Convention, nor are they inadmissible on any other ground. Accordingly, they must be declared admissible. Having examined all the material before it, the Court concludes that they also disclose violations of the Convention in the light of its findings in Idalov v. Russia ([GC], no. 5826/03, 22 May 2012) in view of the lack of a speedy review of the detention matters.
IV. REMAINING COMPLAINTS
12. In applications nos. 10602/17 and 33221/17 the applicants also raised other complaints under various Articles of the Convention.
13. The Court has examined the applications and considers that, in the light of all the material in its possession and in so far as the matters complained of are within its competence, these complaints either do not meet the admissibility criteria set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention or do not disclose any appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Convention or the Protocols thereto.
It follows that this part of the applications must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention.
V. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION
14. Article 41 of the Convention provides:
“If the Court finds that there has been a violation of the Convention or the Protocols thereto, and if the internal law of the High Contracting Party concerned allows only partial reparation to be made, the Court shall, if necessary, afford just satisfaction to the injured party.”
15. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Pastukhov and Yelagin v. Russia, no. 55299/07, 19 December 2013), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.
16. The Court considers it appropriate that the default interest rate should be based on the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank, to which should be added three percentage points.
FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,
1. Decides to join the applications;
2. Declares the complaints concerning the excessive length of pre-trial detention and the other complaints under well-established case-law of the Court, as set out in the appended table, admissible, and the remainder of the applications nos. 10602/17 and 33221/17 inadmissible;
3. Holds that these complaints disclose a breach of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention concerning the excessive length of pre-trial detention;
4. Holds that there has been a violation of the Convention as regards the other complaints raised under well-established case-law of the Court (see appended table);
5. Holds
(a) that the respondent State is to pay the applicants, within three months, the amounts indicated in the appended table, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement;
(b) that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amounts at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.
Done in English, and notified in writing on 27 June 2019, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Liv TigerstedtAlena Poláčková
Acting Deputy RegistrarPresident
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 5 § 3 of the Convention
(excessive length of pre-trial detention)
No.
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant’s name
Date of birth
Representative’s name and location
Period of detention
Court which issued detention order/examined appeal
Length of detention
Specific defects
Other complaints under well‑established case‑law
Amount awarded for pecuniary and non‑pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros)[i]
10602/17
14/08/2017
Sergey Olegovich Bibik
29/12/1986
20/04/2013 to
01/02/2016
21/02/2017 to
18/01/2018
Norilsk Town Court of Krasnoyarsk;
Sovetskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk; Krasnoyarsk Regional Court
2 year(s) and
9 month(s) and 13 day(s)
10 month(s) and 29 day(s)
collective detention orders; use of assumptions, in the absence of any evidentiary basis, of the risks of absconding or obstructing justice; failure to examine the possibility of applying other measures of restraint; failure to conduct the proceedings with due diligence during the period of detention;
Art. 5 (4) - excessive length of judicial review of detention - appellate decision of 04/05/2017 was issued in respect of the detention orders of 08/09/2015 and 01/12/2015
6,600
18348/17
28/02/2017
Dmitriy Yuryevich Bogatov
20/04/1977
Sychugov Anton Petrovich
Volgograd
26/06/2016 to
20/08/2018
Volzhsk Town Court; Volgograd Regional Court
2 year(s) and
1 month(s) and 26 day(s)
collective detention orders; use of assumptions, in the absence of any evidentiary basis, of the risks of absconding or obstructing justice; failure to assess the applicant’s personal situation reducing the risks of re-offending, colluding or absconding; failure to examine the possibility of applying other measures of restraint;
2,900
33221/17
30/03/2017
Andrey Vyacheslavovich Yushkov
21/10/1976
18/07/2014 to
18/12/2017
Supreme Court of the Tatarstan Republic
3 year(s) and
5 month(s) and 1 day(s)
fragility of the reasons employed by the court as the case progressed; failure to assess the applicant’s personal situation reducing the risks of re-offending, colluding or absconding as the case progressed; failure to conduct the proceedings with due diligence during the period of detention;
4,700
33874/17
17/04/2017
Nikolay Vladimirovich Savin
26/04/1966
17/11/2013 to
18/12/2017
Yelabuga Town Court of the Tatarstan Republic; Supreme Court of the Tatarstan Republic
4 year(s) and
1 month(s) and 2 day(s)
collective detention orders; failure to assess the applicant’s personal situation reducing the risks of re-offending, colluding or absconding; fragility of the reasons employed by the courts; failure to examine the possibility of applying other measures of restraint as the case progressed; failure to conduct the proceedings with due diligence during the period of detention;
5,500
75217/17
06/10/2017
Artem Igorevich Osipov
13/03/1992
19/06/2013 to
01/02/2016
21/02/2017 to
18/01/2018
Sovetskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk; Krasnoyarsk Regional Court
2 year(s) and
7 month(s) and 14 day(s)
10 month(s) and 29 day(s)
collective detention orders; use of assumptions, in the absence of any evidentiary basis, of the risks of absconding or obstructing justice; failure to assess the applicant’s personal situation reducing the risks of re-offending, colluding or absconding; failure to examine the possibility of applying other measures of restraint; failure to conduct the proceedings with due diligence during the period of detention;
Art. 5 (4) - excessive length of judicial review of detention - review of the detention order dated 26/11/2015; was reviewed on appeal only on 04/05/2017.
6,300
2297/18
17/12/2017
Tatyana Vladimirovna Maslova
10/10/1970
Frolov Anatoliy Anatolyevich
Lipetsk
29/06/2015
pending
Oktyabrskiy District Court of Lipetsk;
Lipetsk Regional Court
More than
3 year(s) and
9 month(s) and 7 day(s)
collective detention orders; fragility of the reasons employed by the courts; use of assumptions, in the absence of any evidentiary basis, of the risks of absconding or obstructing justice; failure to assess the applicant’s personal situation reducing the risks of re-offending, colluding or absconding; failure to examine the possibility of applying other measures of restraint; failure to conduct the proceedings with due diligence during the period of detention;
5,200
3608/18
16/12/2017
Pavel Vladimirovich Khevronin
30/08/1986
14/10/2014 to
08/12/2017
Military Court of the Privolzhye Circuit
3 year(s) and
1 month(s) and 25 day(s)
collective detention orders; failure to assess the applicant’s personal situation reducing the risks of re-offending, colluding or absconding as the case progressed; failure to conduct the proceedings with due diligence during the period of detention;
4,200
7534/18
13/01/2018
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Gyrdasov
27/02/1978
10/02/2014 to
18/12/2017
Yelabuga Town Court of the Tatarstan Republic; Supreme Court of the Tatarstan Republic
3 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 9 day(s)
collective detention orders; failure to conduct the proceedings with due diligence during the period of detention; use of assumptions, in the absence of any evidentiary basis, of the risks of absconding or obstructing justice as the case progressed; fragility of the reasons employed by the courts as the case progressed; failure to examine the possibility of applying other measures of restraint as the case progressed;
5,300
25145/18
12/05/2018
Andrey Sergeyevich Alesenko
16/01/1985
02/03/2015 to
04/06/2018
Prokhladnenskiy District Court of the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic; Supreme Court of the Kabardino-Balkariya Republic
3 year(s) and
3 month(s) and 3 day(s)
collective detention orders; use of assumptions, in the absence of any evidentiary basis, of the risks of absconding or obstructing justice as the case progressed; fragility of the reasons employed by the courts as the case progressed; failure to conduct the proceedings with due diligence during the period of detention;
4,400
[i]. Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
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