THIRD SECTION
CASE OF NEMTSEV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA
(Application no. 22722/14 and 6 others –
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
29 March 2018
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Nemtsev 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 8 March 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, 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. OTHER ALLEGED VIOLATIONS UNDER WELL-ESTABLISHED CASE-LAW
11. Some applicants submitted other complaints which raised issues under Article 13 of 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, §§ 38-45, concerning the lack of an effective domestic remedy to complain about poor conditions of detention.
IV. REMAINING COMPLAINTS
12. In application no. 22722/14, the applicant also raised other complaints under Article 3 of the Convention.
13. The Court has examined the application 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 application 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, 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 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 inadequate conditions of 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 application no. 22722/14 inadmissible;
3. Holds that these complaints 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 29 March 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]
22722/14
09/06/2014
Yulian Yevgenyevich Nemtsev
11/12/1981
IK-1 Syktyvkar
21/06/2014
pending
More than 3 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 21 day(s)
40 inmate(s)
2 m²
inadequate temperature, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, poor quality of food, no ventilation, not provided with seasonal shoes
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention -
13,000
49400/16
12/08/2016
Oleg Gennadyevich Osyanin
01/03/1966
IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod
29/02/2016 to
16/01/2017
10 month(s) and 19 day(s)
2 m²
infestation of cell with insects/rodents, overcrowding, no or restricted access to potable water
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention -
4,700
49635/16
21/07/2016
Leon Nikolayevich Krivobokov
06/04/1963
IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region
02/04/2012 to
24/01/2017
4 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 23 day(s)
2 m²
lack of fresh air, overcrowding, poor quality of food, mouldy or dirty cell
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention -
6,800
72677/16
09/11/2016
Artem Mikhaylovich Lazarev
04/06/1986
IK-34 Krasnoyarsk
13/07/2015
pending
More than 2 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 29 day(s)
138 inmate(s)
2 m²
8 toilet(s)
overcrowding, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention -
9,000
73716/16
14/11/2016
Zaurbek Maksharipovich Dzeytov
13/07/1974
IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region
30/11/2011
pending
More than 6 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 12 day(s)
37 inmate(s)
1.6 m²
lack of fresh air, poor quality of food, passive smoking, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to shower, lack of requisite medical assistance
8,800
73788/16
11/07/2016
Oleg Grigoryevich Yuzhalin
06/10/1967
IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region
25/07/2011
pending
More than 6 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 17 day(s)
100 inmate(s)
2.6 m²
6 toilet(s)
overcrowding, lack or insufficient quantity of food, poor quality of food, lack or inadequate furniture, no or restricted access to warm water
9,800
4495/17
03/02/2017
Yevgeniy Aleksandrovich Bozhko
19/04/1976
IK-12 Vologda Region
01/08/2014
pending
More than 3 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 10 day(s)
1.5 m²
no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities
8,300
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
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