FIFTH SECTION
CASE OF MINSKYY AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE
(Application no. 33518/20 and 2 others –
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
10 November 2022
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Minskyy and Others v. Ukraine,
The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Stéphanie Mourou-Vikström, President,
Ivana Jelić,
Kateřina Šimáčková, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 20 October 2022,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
PROCEDURE
1. The case originated in applications against Ukraine 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 Ukrainian 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 detention and of the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law. They 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 ARTICLES 3 AND 13 OF THE CONVENTION6. The applicants complained principally of the inadequate conditions of their detention and that they had no effective remedy in this connection. They relied on Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention, which read as follows:
Article 3
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Article 13
“Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in this Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority ...”
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, Muršić v. Croatia [GC], no. 7334/13, §§ 96‑101, ECHR 2016). It reiterates in particular that a serious lack of space in a prison cell weighs heavily as a factor to be taken into account for the purpose of establishing whether the detention conditions described are “degrading” from the point of view of Article 3 and may disclose a violation, both alone or taken together with other shortcomings (see Muršić, cited above, §§ 122-41, and Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 149‑59, 10 January 2012).
8. In the leading cases of Melnik v. Ukraine, no. 72286/01, 28 March 2006 and Sukachov v. Ukraine, no. 14057/17, 30 January 2020, 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. The Court further notes that the applicants did not have at their disposal an effective remedy in respect of these complaints.
11. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention.
OTHER ALLEGED VIOLATIONS UNDER WELL-ESTABLISHED CASE-LAW12. The 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 Grubnyk v. Ukraine, no. 58444/15, §§ 69-85, 17 September 2020, Kharchenko v. Ukraine, no. 40107/02, § 80, 10 February 2011, Tymoshenko v. Ukraine, no. 49872/11, §§ 286-87, 30 April 2013, Kotiy v. Ukraine, no. 28718/09, § 55, 5 March 2015, Ignatov v. Ukraine, no. 40583/15, §§ 38‑42, 15 December 2016, and Nechay v. Ukraine, no. 15360/10, §§ 53‑56 and 69-72, 1 July 2021.
APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION13. 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.”
14. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Sukachov, cited above, §§ 165 and 167), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.
15. 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 applications admissible;Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention and the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law;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 period plus three percentage points.
Done in English, and notified in writing on 10 November 2022, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Viktoriya Maradudina Stéphanie Mourou-Vikström
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention
(inadequate conditions of detention and lack of any effective remedy in domestic law)
No.
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant’s name
Year of birth
Representative’s name and location
Facility
Start and end date
Duration
Sq. m per inmate
Specific grievances
Other complaints under well-established case-law
Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage per applicant
(in euros)[1]
Amount awarded for costs and expenses per application
(in euros)[2]
33518/20
18/06/2020
Anatoliy Petrovych MINSKYY
1990
Bondarenko Vadym Vasylyovych
Mykolayiv
Mykolayiv Detention Facility
11/12/2015
pending
More than 6 years and 9 months and 17 days
2-2.5 m²
bunk beds, lack of or insufficient natural light, no or restricted access to shower, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, overcrowding
Art. 5 (3) - excessive length of pre-trial detention –
10/12/2015 – pending,
Art. 6 (1) - excessive length of criminal proceedings
09/12/2015 - pending before the first instance court.
9,800
250
55774/20
27/11/2020
Oleksiy Volodymyrovych MYRONENKO
1996
Yolkin Andriy Valeriyovych
Kryvyy Rig
Dnipro Detention Facility no. 4
18/02/2019
to
04/05/2019
2 months and 17 days
Kryvyy Rig Detention Facility no. 3
04/05/2019
to
18/05/2019
15 days
Dnipro Detention Facility no. 4
18/05/2019
to
24/10/2019
5 months and 7 days
Kryvyy Rig Detention Facility no. 3
24/10/2019
to
02/06/2020
7 months and 10 days
2.6-2.7 m²
2.6 m²
2.6-2.7 m²
2.5 m²
overcrowding, inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, mouldy or dirty cell, passive smoking, lack of or insufficient electric light, poor quality of potable water, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of toiletries, infestation of cell with insects/rodents
overcrowding, inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of toiletries, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, passive smoking, poor quality of potable water
overcrowding, inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of toiletries, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, passive smoking, poor quality of potable water
overcrowding, inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of privacy for toilet, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, passive smoking, poor quality of potable water, infestation of cell with insects/rodents
Art. 5 (3) - excessive length of pre-trial detention - from 14/02/2019 to 02/06/2020 - prolonged detention based on standard court decisions which did not contain due reasons and analysis of alternatives,
Art. 5 (5) - lack of, or inadequate compensation, for the violation of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention (Kotiy v. Ukraine, no. 28718/09, § 55, 5 March 2015, and Tymoshenko v. Ukraine, no. 49872/11, §§ 286-87, 30 April 2013)
4,800
250
25380/21
26/04/2021
Mykhaylo Andriyovych CHEBOTAR
1995
Leshchenko Andriy Viktorovych
Odesa
Odesa Pre-Trial Detention Facility
24/02/2017
pending
More than 5 years and 7 months and 4 days
1.7 m²
overcrowding, sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, mouldy or dirty cell
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty, including unrecorded detention and detention without a judicial order - 27/08/2016 - 29/08/2016 delay in the drawing up of the arrest report,
Art. 5 (3) - excessive length of pre-trial detention - 29/08/2016 - pending,
Art. 5 (5) - lack of, or inadequate, compensation for unlawful arrest or detention.
9,800
250
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
[2] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.