Communicated on 20 January 2018
FOURTH SECTION
Application no. 46797/16
Paul CIOCOIU
against Romania
lodged on 13 December 2016
STATEMENT OF FACTS
1. The applicant, Mr Paul Ciocoiu, is a Romanian national, who was born in 1989 and is currently detained in Giurgiu Prison. He is represented before the Court by Ms C. Boghină, a lawyer practising in Bucharest.
A. The circumstances of the case
2. The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows.
3. The applicant has suffered since childhood of a behavioural disorder with symptoms such as major difficulties of learning and lack of concentration. In 2012 he started receiving treatment with anxiolytics.
4. In July 2015, after reassessment in a psychiatric clinic, the applicant’s diagnosis was confirmed and he was recommended drug treatment and constant psychiatric re-evaluation.
5. On 3 September 2015, he was arrested after having committed a road traffic offence.
6. The applicant’s request for a less sever sentence on the ground that he sufferd from a mental disorder was rejected and on 16 March 2016 the Bucharest County Court sentenced him to three years and eight months imprisonment.
7. On 31 August 2016, almost one year after his placement in detention, the applicant underwent a medical evaluation. On this occasion he was diagnosed with a mental disorder (tulburare de personalitate disocială) with symptoms such as antisocial behaviour, emotional instability and aggressive behaviour. He was recommended treatment with antidepressants, anxiolytics and neuroleptics as well as psychological counselling and medical reassessment when needed.
8. Subsequently, the applicant’s request for admission to a psychiatric section of a prison hospital was approved by the prison’s administration. However, in spite of repeated requests by the applicant and a non-governmental organisation the transfer has not yet been operated.
9. Between 4 and 6 July 2017 the applicant was subject to medical examinations which confirmed the previous diagnosis and identified additional symptoms, such as loss of self-control, intrusive dreams and anguish. He was recommended to continue the drug treatment and to undergo psychological counselling, individual psychotherapy and group therapy. Psychiatric examinations were recommended every six months or when needed.
10. The applicant alleges that his behavioural problems, which are due to his mental condition, are constantly punished with disciplinary sanctions, most often consisting of isolation in the high security ward and interdiction of visits or activities. According to the applicant, this treatment by the prison authorities intensifies the symptoms of his mental condition. For example between January and May 2017 he was the subject of eleven disciplinary reports. The applicant also submits that his inability to communicate with others caused by his illness also elicited aggressive reactions from co-detainees. Hence, he constantly had to deal with stress and conflict which placed significant psychological and physical strain on him, aggravated by the total absence of any psychological counselling or therapy.
B. Relevant domestic and international law
11. The relevant provisions of Law no. 254/2013 on the serving of prison sentences, which entered into force on 1 February 2014, read as follows:
Article 73 – Medical assistance in special cases
“... (6) The prisons or prison hospitals with special psychiatric sections for prisoners with severe mental illnesses shall be established by decision of the general director of the National Prisons Administration.”
Article 94 – Special provisions concerning convicted people with disabilities
“(1) The National Prisons Administration and the prison’s administration shall adopt specific measures in order to protect the physical and mental health of convicted people with disabilities.
(2) Participation in educational and cultural activities, therapy, psychological counselling, social assistance and moral-religious activities shall be ensured to convicted people with disabilities, in accordance with their options and abilities ...”
12. Excerpts of the relevant international standards concerning the detention of mentally-ill prisoners are cited in Gheorghe Predescu v. Romania, (no. 19696/10, §§ 31-33, 25 February 2014).
COMPLAINTS
13. The applicant complains under Article 3 of the Convention that he should have been placed in a psychiatric section of a prison hospital where he could have benefited from adequate treatment for his mental condition. He submits that his detention, without any access to psychiatric therapy, psychological counselling or adequate activities had a negative impact on his mental state and amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment.
14. Relying on Article 14 of the Convention the applicant also complains that he was discriminated by the prison authorities due to his mental state of health. He alleged that the absence of adequate medical treatment for his mental condition and the absence of specialised prison personnel made him feel stigmatised and intensified his feelings of isolation.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Are the conditions of the applicant’s detention compatible with the requirements of Article 3 of the Convention? In particular:
(a) is the applicant’s health compatible with his detention conditions?
(b) is there any legal means for transferring a person with a mental illness such as the applicant from prison to an adequate psychiatric facility?
2. Has the applicant benefited from medical care adequate to his mental condition and in compliance with his doctor’s recommendations in detention?
3. Did the applicant have at his disposal an effective domestic remedy for his complaint concerning the compatibility of his state of health with the detention conditions, as required by Article 13 of the Convention?
4. Did the prison authorities’ alleged failure to provide the applicant with adequate medical treatment amount to discrimination against the applicant on account of his mental condition, contrary to Article 14 read in conjunction with Article 3 of the Convention?
The Government are invited to send a copy of the applicant’s prison medical record.
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy