THIRD SECTION
CASE OF MANUYLOV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA
(Applications nos. 63346/13 and 6 others –
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
4 May 2017
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Manuylov and Others v. Russia,
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Luis López Guerra, President,
Dmitry Dedov,
Branko Lubarda, judges,
and Karen Reid, Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 30 March 2017,
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 and 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, 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 applicants’ conditions of detention were inadequate.
10. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.
III. REMAINING COMPLAINTS
11. The applicants submitted other complaints which also raised issues under the Convention, in accordance with 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 case (cited above, §§ 38-45, pertaining to the absence of an effective remedy to complaint about the conditions of detention in Russia) and Idalov v. Russia [GC] (no. 5826/03, §§ 103-108, 22 May 2012, concerning the conditions of transport of detainees).
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, to its case‑law and the long delay for some of the applicants in filing the application, 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 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 4 May 2017, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Karen ReidLuis López Guerra
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
Number of 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]
63346/13
04/09/2013
Valeriy Vladislavovich Manuylov
01/01/1959
IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region
05/05/2012
pending
More than 4 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 26 day(s)
147 inmate(s)
1.7 m²
lack of requisite medical assistance, overcrowding
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention –
15,800
63990/13
07/07/2011
Aleksey Sergeyevich Dzhumagaliyev
26/07/1977
Prison hospital no. LIU-2 Omsk Region
07/07/2011
pending
More than 5 year(s) and
8 month(s) and 24 day(s)
1.5 m²
overcrowding, lack of requisite medical assistance, poor quality of food
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention –
19,300
64053/13
19/09/2013
Andrey Anatolyevich Novoselov
07/06/1970
IK-30 Perm Region
15/02/2012 to
19/09/2013
1 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 5 day(s)
130 inmate(s)
1.5 m²
8 toilet(s)
no hot water, insufficient space for outdoor exercise, lack of fresh air, poor quality of food
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention -
5,000
65405/13
20/09/2013
Andrey Sergeyevich Sidorov
24/09/1980
IK-12 Arkhangelsk Region
07/02/2001 to
10/10/2002
1 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 4 day(s)
IK-4 Arkhangelsk Region
10/10/2002 to
20/08/2005
2 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 11 day(s)
Prison Hospital FKU OB Arkhangelsk Region
21/01/2005 to
15/04/2013
8 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 26 day(s)
IK-12 Arkhangelsk Region
20/08/2005
pending
More than 11 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 11 day(s)
IK-28 Arkhangelsk Region
24/04/2015 to
11/09/2015
4 month(s) and 19 day(s)
145 inmate(s)
1.7 m²
145 inmate(s)
1.7 m²
2 m²
145 inmate(s)
1.7 m²
1.9 m²
click and type text, insufficient number of beds in the cell, poor quality of water, lack of (sufficient) natural light, lack of fresh air, lack of (adequate) heating
toilet pans are not separated, insufficient number of beds in the cell, poor quality of water, lack of (sufficient) natural light, lack of fresh air, lack of (adequate) heating
poor sanitary conditions, lack of (adequate) heating
toilet pans are not separated, insufficient number of beds in the cell, poor quality of water, lack of (sufficient) natural light, lack of fresh air, lack of (adequate) heating
toilet not separated from the rest of the cell, poor quality of water
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention -
16,800
72742/13
23/10/2013
Yevgeniy Valeryevich Matveyev
03/10/1976
IK-29 Perm
29/04/2013 to
08/05/2013
10 day(s)
IK-2 Perm Region
09/05/2013 to
15/05/2013
7 day(s)
IK-19 Perm Region
15/05/2013 to
02/12/2013
6 month(s) and 18 day(s)
IK-2 Perm Region
26/08/2013 to
29/08/2013
4 day(s)
IK-9 Perm Region
02/12/2013 to
25/12/2013
24 day(s)
2.5 m²
2.2 m²
150 inmate(s)
8 toilet(s)
1.2 m²
1.7 m²
no access to natural light, low partition between the toilet and the living room, the squat toilet was 0.5 m away from the dining table, insects and rodents, outdoor exercise allowed only once
fewer sleeping places than inmates, poor ventilation, poor lighting, low partition between the toilet and the living room, the toilet was one metre away from the dining table, poor quality of food, outdoor exercise allowed only once
insects and rodents, no ventilation, poor lighting, poor heating, no hot water, lack of space for outdoor exercise, poor quality of food, outdoor exercise allowed only once, lack of requisite medical assistance
fewer sleeping places than inmates, poor ventilation, poor lighting, low partition between the toilet and the living room, the toilet was 0.5 metre away from the dining table, poor quality of food
overcrowding, poor lighting, no access to natural light, no ventilation, poor quality of food, no hot water, insects.
Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - Van, Perm 29/04/2013 0.63 sq. m., trip of 40-50 minutes, no lighting, no ventilation, no heating
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention -
5,100
75470/13
05/11/2013
Aleksandr Viktorovich Medvedev
24/03/1978
IK-2 Tomsk Region
20/12/2013 to
25/02/2014
2 month(s) and 6 day(s)
2.5 m²
lack of (adequate) heating, lack of (sufficient) natural light, mould on the walls, insects, rodents, stench,, poor quality of food, toilet not separated from the rest of the cell, 3-5 minutes to take weekly shower
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention -
1,700
77073/13
21/10/2013
Yevgeniy Aleksandrovich Kashentsev
07/02/1982
IK-6 Kirov Region
02/04/2009 to
28/05/2013
4 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 27 day(s)
1 m²
no ventilation, low partition between the toilet and the living area, no access to natural light or fresh air, tuberculosis and hepatitis-infected inmates in the dormitory, poor quality of food
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention -
5,000
[1]. Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
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