THIRD SECTION
CASE OF MASTRYUKOV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA
(Applications no. 8346/17 and 24 others –
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
13 October 2022
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Mastryukov and Others v. Russia,
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Darian Pavli, President,
Andreas Zünd,
Frédéric Krenc, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 15 September 2022,
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 Russian Government (“the Government”) were given notice of the applications.
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 on‑going detention in post-conviction facilities. Some applicants also raised other complaints under the provisions of the Convention.
THE LAW
JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS5. Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.
ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 3 OF THE CONVENTION6. The applicants complained principally of the inadequate conditions of their on-going detention in post-conviction facilities during the periods indicated in the appended table. 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, §§ 139‑65, 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 conditions of the applicant’s on-going detention in post-conviction facilities were inadequate.
10. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.
OTHER ALLEGED VIOLATIONS UNDER WELL-ESTABLISHED CASE-LAW11. 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 well‑established case-law (see Sergey Babushkin, cited above, §§ 38-45, concerning lack of an effective remedy in respect of the complaints about conditions of post-conviction detention, and Gorlov and Others v. Russia, nos. 27057/06 and 2 others, 2 July 2019, concerning permanent video surveillance of detainees and the lack of an effective remedy in that respect).
REMAINING COMPLAINTS12. The applicants also raised other complaints under various Articles of the Convention.
13. The Court has examined the applications listed in the appended table 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.
APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION14. 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, 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.
16. The Court further 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,
Decides to join the applications;Declares the complaints concerning the inadequate conditions of on‑going detention after conviction, as described in the appended table, 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 inadmissible;Holds that these complaints disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of on-going detention after conviction;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);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 during the default period plus three percentage points.
Done in English, and notified in writing on 13 October 2022, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Viktoriya Maradudina Darian Pavli
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention
(inadequate conditions of detention after conviction)
No.
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant’s name
Year of birth
Representative’s name and location
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]
8346/17
06/03/2017
AND
29788/17
25/08/2017
Vladimir Stanislavovich MASTRYUKOV
1989
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
02/11/2014
pending
More than
7 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 8 day(s)
120 inmate(s)
1.8 m²
overcrowding, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient electric light, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of requisite medical assistance, inadequate temperature.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
45064/17
29/05/2017
Eduard Nikolayevich DRUGOV
1977
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
04/06/2016
pending
More than
6 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 6 day(s)
48 inmate(s)
1.5 m²
overcrowding
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention
16,300
76250/17
12/10/2017
Denis Aleksandrovich OSTAPENKO
1974
Marianna Dmitriyevna Butrimenko
Volgograd
IK-9 Volgograd
28/08/2010 to
27/03/2011
7 month(s)
IK-24 Volgograd
27/03/2011 to 29/11/2016
5 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 3 day(s),
IK-9 Volgograd
29/11/2016
pending
More than
5 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 12 day(s)
120 inmate(s)
1.2 m²
3 toilet(s)
inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of privacy for toilet, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, overcrowding, passive smoking, poor quality of food.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
3655/18
25/12/2017
Ilya Olegovich ISAYKIN
1988
IK-12 Nizhniy Novgorod Region
01/12/2016 to
21/11/2017
11 month(s) and 21 day(s)
IK-12 Nizhniy Novgorod Region
09/01/2018
pending
More than 4 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 9 day(s)
100 inmate(s)
1.85 m²
overcrowding, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of fresh air, no toilet inside the building, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of requisite medical assistance, poor quality of food
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
3725/18
15/12/2017
Sergey Andreyevich PAVLOV
1987
IK-1 Arkhangelsk Region
12/02/2017
pending
More than 5 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 6 day(s)
83 inmate(s)
1.7 m²
4 toilet(s)
No or restricted access to running water, no or restricted access to warm water, poor quality of food.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
7983/18
21/01/2018
Ruslan Shakhabudinovich ABDULLAYEV
1979
IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region
01/09/2015
pending
More than 6 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 17 day(s)
1.6 m²
Bunk beds, overcrowding, lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
8054/18
21/01/2018
Mikhail Eduardovich ZARUBETSKIY
1981
IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region
04/08/2014 to
19/02/2018
3 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 16 day(s)
IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod
05/03/2018
pending
More than
4 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 5 day(s)
1.6 m²
bunk beds, overcrowding, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of food
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
14097/18
12/03/2018
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich UKHANOV
1984
IK-1 Arkhangelsk Region
01/08/2016
pending
More than
6 year(s) and 9 day(s)
90 inmate(s)
1.6 m²
4 toilet(s)
Overcrowding, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to running water, inadequate temperature, lack of or insufficient natural light.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
14260/18
19/02/2018
Valeriy Borisovich GUSEV
1969
IK-29 Kirov Region
06/03/2017
pending
More than
5 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 4 day(s)
1.5 m²
No ventilation, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or insufficient natural light, mouldy or dirty cell, sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease, overcrowding in the kitchen, no or restricted access to running water, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to shower, lack of requisite medical assistance.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
15386/18
12/02/2018
Aleksandr Vyacheslavovich KOZLOV
1983
IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region
01/08/2017 to
07/08/2017
7 day(s)
IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod
21/08/2017
pending
More than 4 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 28 day(s)
120 inmate(s)
1.3 m²
5 toilet(s)
Overcrowding, lack or inadequate furniture, inadequate state of the sewage and water supply system, lack of fresh air, insufficient number of toilets and wash basins, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, inadequate state of the exercise yard, poor quality of food, lack or insufficient quantity of food.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
15419/18
21/02/2018
Nikolay Illarionovich KHRAMOV
1977
IK-6 Chuvashia Republic
11/03/2016
pending
More than
6 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 30 day(s)
50 inmate(s)
1.5 m²
Inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
17221/18
25/03/2018
Vladimir Nikolayevich VOLOSTNOV
1957
IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region
01/08/2017
pending
More than
5 year(s) and 9 day(s)
45 inmate(s)
1.7 m²
Infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack or inadequate furniture, overcrowding, poor quality of food.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
24501/18
29/06/2018
Vladimir Vladimirovich NOVIKOV
1978
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
31/01/2018
pending
More than
4 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 10 day(s)
140 inmate(s)
1.5 m²
Overcrowding.
12,500
24660/18
14/05/2018
Konstantin Petrovich OKHLOPKOV
1972
IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod
05/03/2018
pending
More than 4 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 13 day(s)
1.5 m²
Lack of or insufficient natural light, overcrowding, lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
28701/18
28/05/2018
Yuriy Aleksandrovich ZAGERS
1986
Kulakov Yevgeniy Valeryevich
Arkhangelsk
IK-1 Arkhangelsk Region
19/02/2016
pending
More than
6 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 22 day(s)
80 inmate(s)
1.8 m²
2 toilet(s)
Overcrowding, no or restricted access to warm water, poor quality of potable water, poor state of the water supply system, insufficient number of toilets and wash basins, inadequate temperature, poor quality of food, lack or insufficient quantity of food
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
30403/18
13/06/2018
Sergey Anatolyevich TKACHENKO
1980
Kulakov Yevgeniy Valeryevich
Arkhangelsk
IK-1 Arkhangelsk Region
30/04/2016
pending
More than
6 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 11 day(s)
90 inmate(s)
1.5 m²
4 toilet(s)
Inadequate temperature, poor quality of food, sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease, overcrowding, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to warm water, poor quality of potable water.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
31281/18
06/06/2018
Viktor Dmitriyevich PONOMARENKO
1979
IK-49 Komi Republic
12/12/2013
pending
More than
8 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 29 day(s)
1.6 m²
Poor quality of potable water, no or restricted access to toilet, poor quality of food, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, insufficient number of sleeping places.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
31998/18
25/06/2018
Andrey Anatolyevich ZLOBIN
1978
IK-16 Murmansk Region
20/07/2017
pending
More than
5 year(s) and 21 day(s)
105 inmate(s)
2.19 m²
5 toilet(s)
Overcrowding, lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, no or restricted access to potable water, no radio in cell, bad odour in dormitory, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or insufficient electric light, high humidity in dormitory, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to shower, poor quality of food, unsanitary conditions of canteen.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
32126/18
15/06/2018
Yevgeniy Yevgenyevich VASYUTOV
1988
Kulakov Yevgeniy Valeryevich
Arkhangelsk
IK-1 Arkhangelsk Region
09/07/2016
pending
More than
6 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 1 day(s)
90 inmate(s)
1.5 m²
Inadequate temperature, lack of or insufficient electric light, sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
41868/18
14/11/2018
Sergey Ivanovich PETUKHOV
1971
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
14/10/2017 to
19/04/2020
2 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 6 day(s)
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
02/05/2020
pending
More than 2 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 17 day(s))
72 inmate(s)
1.5 m²
8 toilet(s)
Inadequate temperature, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack or insufficient quantity of food, poor quality of food, overcrowding, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
44854/18
02/11/2018
Vasiliy Vladimirovich VLASOV
1977
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
20/10/2014
pending
More than
7 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 21 day(s)
140 inmate(s)
1.6 m²
7 toilet(s)
Overcrowding, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to running water, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to shower
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
7434/19
16/01/2019
Aleksandr Sergeyevich POTYLITSYN
1976
IK-5 Krasnoyarsk Region
14/04/2017
pending
More than
5 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 27 day(s)
170 inmate(s)
1 m²
3 toilet(s)
Overcrowding, lack of outfit, inadequate temperature, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention and in respect of the permanent video surveillance;
Art. 8 (1) - permanent video surveillance of detainees in pre-trial or post-conviction detention facilities - 14/04/2017 - pending
IK-5 Krasnoyarsk Region
Opposite-sex operators.
12,500
19705/19
18/03/2019
Ivan Viktorovich GONCHAROV
1980
IK-1 Komi Republic
20/02/2014
pending
More than
8 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 21 day(s)
100 inmate(s)
1.65 m²
6 toilet(s)
Overcrowding, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to shower.
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
12,500
58763/19
17/10/2019
Igor Nikolayevich KOTOV
1974
IK-37 Perm Region
25/04/2018
pending
More than
4 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 16 day(s)
1 m²
Lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of fresh air, insufficient number of sleeping places, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, inadequate temperature, overcrowding, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to warm water.
12,500
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.