THIRD SECTION
CASE OF MALYGIN AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA
(Application no. 55427/13 and 6 others -
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
22 February 2018
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Malygin and Others v. Russia,
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Luis López Guerra, President,
Dmitry Dedov,
Jolien Schukking, judges,
and Liv Tigerstedt, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 1 February 2018,
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. The applications were communicated 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 inadequate conditions of their 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 3 OF THE CONVENTION
6. The applicants complained principally of the inadequate conditions of their detention. They relied on Article 3 of the Convention, which reads as follows:
Article 3
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
7. The Court notes that the applicants were kept in detention in poor conditions. The details of the applicants’ detention are indicated in the appended table. The Court refers to the principles established in its case‑law regarding inadequate conditions of detention (see, for instance, Kudła v. Poland [GC], no. 30210/96, §§ 90‑94, ECHR 2000‑XI, and Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 139‑165, 10 January 2012). It reiterates in particular that extreme lack of space in a prison cell or overcrowding weighs heavily as an aspect to be taken into account for the purpose of establishing whether the impugned detention conditions were “degrading” from the point of view of Article 3 and may disclose a violation, both alone or taken together with other shortcomings (see, amongst many authorities, Karalevičius v. Lithuania, no. 53254/99, §§ 36–40, 7 April 2005).
8. In the leading case of Sergey Babushkin v. Russia, no. 5993/08, 28 November 2013, 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 and the Government’s objection related to the application of the six-month time-limit, 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 dismisses the Government’s objections as unfounded and considers that in the instant case the applicants’ conditions of detention were inadequate.
10. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.
III. OTHER ALLEGED VIOLATIONS UNDER WELL-ESTABLISHED CASE-LAW
11. Some applicants submitted other complaints which also raised issues under the Convention, given the relevant well-established case-law of the Court (see 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 Sergey Babushkin, cited above, §§ 35-48, related to the lack of an effective remedy to complain about the poor conditions of detention, and Idalov v. Russia (no. 2), no. 41858/08, §§ 110-115, 13 December 2016, pertaining to poor conditions of transport and the absence of an effective remedy to complain about it.
IV. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION
12. 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.”
13. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Sergey Babushkin v. Russia, (just satisfaction), no. 5993/08, 16 October 2014, and Mozharov and Others v. Russia, no. 16401/12 and 9 others, 21 March 2017), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.
14. 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 applications admissible;
3. Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of 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 22 February 2018, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Liv TigerstedtLuis López Guerra
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
Inmates per brigade
Sq. m. per inmate
Number of toilets per brigade
Specific grievances
Other complaints under well-established case-law
Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant
(in euros)[1]
55427/13
22/07/2013
Aleksey Borisovich Malygin
04/01/1966
IK-16 Murmashy Murmansk Region
15/02/2012 to 10/06/2013
1 year(s) and 3 month(s)
and 27 day(s)
IZ-69/3 Rzhev Tver Region
05/07/2013 to 15/11/2013
4 month(s) and 11 day(s)
IK-16 Murmashy Murmansk Region
15/11/2013 to 17/09/2015
1 year(s) and 10 month(s)
and 3 day(s)
120 inmate(s)
2 m²
3 toilet(s)
120 inmate(s)
2 m²
Overcrowding, 3 sinks, no hot water, no TV and radio, no published media, lack of toilet privacy.
No ventilation, no fresh air, lack of running water, drinking water of inadequate quality, absence of toilet flushing system allowed unpleasant odours to permeate the cell, solitary confinement without TV, radio and printed media, unsanitary conditions in the shower and cell, shower for 15 min. with a wash-basin of common use, no sanitary equipment provided, overcrowding.
Overcrowding, 3 sinks, no hot water, no TV and radio, no published media, lack of toilet privacy.
Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - transport by train and van and subsequent detention in transit cells; between 10/06/2013 and 05/07/2013 - overcrowding – 12 inmates with big bags in compartment, no ventilation, not allowed to use toilet for 15 hours – had to use bags, lack of food, lack of water.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law - no remedy to complaint about the conditions of transport.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
15,000
61460/15
15/11/2015
Aleksey Aleksandrovich Rets
23/01/1982
IK-11 Bor Nizhniy Novgorod Region
15/06/2012 to 20/09/2016
4 year(s) and 3 month(s)
and 6 day(s)
140 inmate(s)
2.3 m²
6 toilet(s)
8 sinks, no hot water, no separate premises for drying clothes, no educational and rest premises, poor food quality, no warm seasonal clothes and shoes and blanket, 5 min. for food intake.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
7,800
77902/16
22/11/2016
Aleksandr Anatolyevich Maleta
21/02/1976
IK-2 Zabaykalsky Region
04/03/2011 to 20/05/2011
2 month(s) and 17 day(s)
IK-2 Zabaykalsky Region
12/06/2011 to 28/09/2015
4 year(s) and 3 month(s)
and 17 day(s)
IK-2 Zabaykalsky Region
22/11/2015 to 02/06/2016
6 month(s) and 12 day(s)
150 inmate(s)
1.5 m²
180 inmate(s)
1.4 m²
145 inmate(s)
1.9 m²
Overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to running water.
Overcrowding, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to running water, mouldy or dirty cell.
Overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to running water.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
5,000
77915/16
22/11/2016
Aleksey Sergeyevich Rogozin
04/05/1981
IK-1 Arkhangelsk
24/04/2010 to 06/12/2016
6 year(s) and 7 month(s)
and 13 day(s)
1.6 m²
Overcrowding, no or restricted access to running water, no or restricted access to potable water, poor quality of potable water.
5,300
78118/16
21/11/2016
Vladimir Valeryevich Vasilyev
08/08/1978
IK-29 Kirov Region
26/11/2015 to 09/11/2016
11 month(s) and 15 day(s)
6 inmate(s)
2.5 m²
Lack of fresh air, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or insufficient natural light.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
5,000
79616/16
24/10/2016
Aleksey Mikhaylovich Shatalov
11/03/1982
IK-29 Kirov Region,
IK-25 Kirov Region
15/07/2015
Pending.
More than 2 year(s) and
5 month(s) and 27 day(s)
10 inmate(s)
2 m²
Lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to warm water, inadequate temperature.
8,800
3482/17
21/11/2016
Maksim Aleksandrovich Kazhevnikov
14/08/1985
IK-8 Novosibirsk
14/06/2015 to 03/11/2016
1 year(s) and 4 month(s)
and 21 day(s)
2.8 m²
Overcrowding, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to warm water.
5,000
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
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