Published on 8 April 2024
SECOND SECTION
Application no. 54792/21
Anatoli JURCOV against the Republic of Moldova
and 3 other applications
(see list appended)
communicated on 18 March 2024
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The cases concern allegedly insufficient or inadequate medical care in prison (all cases), the contraction of transmissible diseases by the applicants in prison (cases nos. 54792/21 and 27439/22), and the material conditions of detention (cases nos. 27439/22 and 36414/22).
The applicants complain of a violation of their rights under Article 3 of the Convention (in all cases) and Article 13 of the Convention (in all cases except application no. 54792/21). A short summary of each application is provided in the appendix.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Has there been a violation of Article 3 of the Convention? In particular:
(a) Considering their medical condition, have the Government met their obligation to ensure that the applicants’ health and well-being are being adequately secured by providing them with the requisite medical assistance as required by Article 3 of the Convention (see Blokhin v. Russia [GC], no. 47152/06, §§ 135-40, 23 March 2016; Machina v. the Republic of Moldova, no. 69086/14, §§ 48-49, 17 January 2023; Grimailovs v. Latvia, no. 6087/03, §§ 150-153, 25 June 2013; and Ghavtadze v. Georgia, no. 23204/07, §§ 74-77 and 86, 3 March 2009)?
The parties are invited to answer the following questions:
(i) When did the authorities become aware of the applicants’ health conditions?
(ii) When were the diagnoses made?
(iii) Were the applicants prescribed any treatment?
(iv) Were the applicants provided with the prescribed medication? If not, for how long have they been unable to receive it?
(b) In applications nos. 54792/21 and 27439/22 do the domestic authorities bear responsibility under the Convention for the applicant’s contamination with various hepatitis viruses (see Machina v. the Republic of Moldova, no. 69086/14, §§ 30 and 36-44, 17 January 2023)?
(c) In applications nos. 27439/22 and 36414/22 do the conditions of detention in which the applicants are being held comply with the requirements of Article 3 of the Convention?
2. Did the applicants (except in application no. 54792/21) have at their disposal an effective domestic remedy for their complaints regarding their medical assistance in detention, as required by Article 13 in conjunction with Article 3 of the Convention?
The Government are requested to submit a copy of the applicants’ medical files.
APPENDIX
No.
Application no.
Lodged on
Applicant
Year of Birth
Place of Residence
Nationality
Representative
Principal medical condition
Summary of facts
Complaints
1.
54792/21
lodged on 27/10/2021
Anatoli JURCOV
1952, Rezina, Moldovan
Represented by: Larisa BUCATAR
Hepatitis B and D.
The applicant is in detention since 1996 and is currently serving a life sentence in Prison no. 17. His infection with hepatitis D was discovered only after his family members ran tests in a private laboratory, subsequently confirmed by the prison laboratory.
Article 3 of the Convention:
lack of medical assistance in detention (contamination with hepatitis, delayed diagnosis, absence of medical assistance and specialised medical staff in prison no. 17).
2.
27439/22
lodged on 07/10/2022
Irina TELIPAN
1974, Rusca, Moldovan
Represented by: Alexei CROITOR
Post-traumatic lower back pain - she uses a wheelchair or crutches to move. Hepatitis B and C. Medium degree of disability established since 16 March 2023.
The applicant is in detention since 4 February 2019 and is currently serving a ten-year prison sentence in prison no. 7 Rusca.
Her complaints about the inadequacy of detention conditions and lack of adequate medical assistance in prison no. 7 were rejected by the courts as manifestly ill-founded.
Article 3 of the Convention:
(i) inadequate or insufficient medical assistance in detention (contamination with hepatitis C in prison and inadequate treatment for this condition);
(ii) material conditions of detention in prison no. 7 considering her difficulty to walk (limited accessibility to prison facilities for persons with walking disorders).
Article 13 of the Convention about the absence of any effective remedy in respect of her complaint concerning inadequate medical assistance in prison.
3.
36414/22
lodged on 15/07/2022
Vladimir OUȘ
1981, Cahul, Moldovan
Tuberculosis.
In 2012 the applicant contracted tuberculosis in prison and treatment was initiated three months later. In 2018 the tuberculosis relapsed.
In 2018 the applicant complained to the investigating judge about the delay in the treatment for tuberculosis and about its relapse due to the inadequacy of treatment and detention conditions in prison no. 15. His complaints were rejected as manifestly ill-founded by the Chișinău Court of Appeal on 21 February 2022 (served on 28 March 2022).
Article 3 of the Convention:
(i) insufficient or inadequate medical assistance in prison (contamination and relapse of tuberculosis; delay in treatment for tuberculosis);
(ii) inadequate detention conditions and quality of the food, which contributed to the relapse of tuberculosis.
Article 13 of the Convention concerning the absence of any effective remedy in respect of his complaint concerning inadequate medical assistance in prison.
4.
7769/23
lodged on 03/02/2023
Stepan TOPAL
1973, Cahul, Ukrainian
Hepatitis C.
The applicant was arrested on 20 October 2022. Since 21 October 2022 he is detained in prison no. 5. On 18 November 2022 he was diagnosed with hepatitis C. He refused the transfer to prison hospital no. 16 wishing to remain in the same prison in order to attend criminal proceedings in his respect. He is not provided with any treatment in prison no. 5.
Article 3 of the Convention about the absence of any medical treatment for hepatitis C in prison no. 5.
Article 13 of the Convention about the absence of any effective remedy in respect of his complaint concerning inadequate medical assistance in prison.