THIRD SECTION
CASE OF SHIMOKHIN AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA
(Application no. 9428/17 and 7 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 Shimokhin 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 Article 13 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 lack of an effective domestic venue to complain about the poor conditions of detention.
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 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]
9428/17
20/03/2017
Sergey Aleksandrovich Shimokhin
05/04/1961
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
21/11/2002 to
12/08/2017
14 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 23 day(s)
140 inmate(s)
2 m²
overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention
6,300
12107/17
10/04/2017
Aleksey Mikhaylovich Kazantsev
10/04/1981
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
23/11/2013 to
10/04/2017
3 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 19 day(s)
1.7 m²
overcrowding, inadequate temperature
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention
5,000
12152/17
10/04/2017
Nikolay Vasilyevich Kartsev
01/04/1967
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
22/02/2014
pending
More than 3 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 20 day(s)
2 m²
lack or inadequate furniture, no or restricted access to shower, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities, high humidity
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention
7,800
12470/17
23/01/2017
Grigoriy Mikhaylovich Klokov
11/03/1979
IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region
06/12/2013 to
03/02/2017
3 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 29 day(s)
160 inmate(s)
1.7 m²
overcrowding, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention
5,300
14245/17
07/02/2017
Khamid Galimovich Kertbiyev
14/11/1975
IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region
09/11/2009
pending
More than 8 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 2 day(s)
140 inmate(s)
2.2 m²
6 toilet(s)
overcrowding, lack or inadequate furniture, no or restricted access to warm water, poor quality of food, lack of warm clothes and shoes
8,300
28740/17
23/03/2017
Denis Vladimirovich Lavrentyev
13/07/1984
IK-11 Khanty-Mansi Region
03/11/2016 to
18/10/2017
11 month(s) and 16 day(s)
110 inmate(s)
2.2-3 m²
lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, mouldy or dirty cell
5,000
28845/17
05/04/2017
Yevgeniy Aleksandrovich Korobeynikov
10/04/1983
IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region
04/04/2011 to
10/10/2016
5 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 7 day(s)
2 m²
overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention
5,000
31597/17
19/04/2017
Roman Sergeyevich Kharitonov
02/02/1977
IK-27 Kirov Region
25/01/2010 to
20/10/2016
6 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 26 day(s)
2 m²
5 toilet(s)
overcrowding, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, insufficient number of sleeping places, bunk beds, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to potable water, poor quality of food, lack or insufficient quantity 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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