Communicated on 20 September 2017
THIRD SECTION
Application no. 67907/16
Vyacheslav Vyacheslavovich KOLGIN
against Russia
lodged on 1 November 2016
STATEMENT OF FACTS
The applicant, Mr Vyacheslav Vyacheslavovich Kolgin, is a Russian national, who was born in 1978 and is serving a prison sentence in Lozvinskiy, Sverdlovsk Region.
A. The circumstances of the case
The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows.
On 30 July 2004 the Samara Regional Court sentenced the applicant to life imprisonment.
On 20 July 2007 the applicant was placed in correctional colony No. IK‑56 where he is serving his sentence to date.
1. Conditions of detention
According to the applicant, the inmates are housed in double or single cells. The double cells measure approximately 18 square metres and the single ones measure approximately 4 square metres. Since 2007 the applicant has been assigned to different cells, the conditions of his detention remaining unchanged.
There is no water supply or sewage system at the colony premises. The inmates are given buckets, to substitute the lack of a toilet, which they have to empty every morning in a cesspool located some two metres away from the recreation area. Each day the inmates receive 10 l of river water for their personal needs. They can take a shower once a week.
The windows in the cells are covered with three layers of metal bars or screens. The cells are not ventilated. The lighting is dim and inadequate.
The food is not fresh, lacks variety and is of poor quality. The milk is often sour, the juices are diluted with water.
The applicant has been housed in single cell no. 10 since 2010. The temperature in the cell does not exceed +120C during the winter. It is damp and stuffy during the summer. He is confined to his cell 22 hours a day with a right to a 1.5-hour outdoor exercise.
The recreation area is divided into exercise yards measuring 7 square metres. The yards are covered with metal bars and screens. There is no exercise equipment.
2. Hair shaving
From July 2007 to December 2016 the applicant did not have a right to have hair longer than 0.5 cm or a beard. His hair was shaven off completely 2 to 4 times a month and he had to shave his face 2 to 3 times a week.
B. Relevant domestic law and practice
According to Internal Regulations of Correctional Facilities in force from November 2005 to December 2016 (Section III, paragraph 14), the inmates were to wear hair, beard and moustache short.
According to Internal Regulations of Correctional Facilities approved by Order No. 295 of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation of 16 December 2016 (Section III, paragraph 16), the inmates are allowed to have hair up to 20 mm long and a beard up to 9 mm long. For medical reasons, the inmates may be allowed to wear longer moustache or beard.
COMPLAINTS
The applicant complains under Article 3 of the Convention about conditions of his detention.
He further complains under Article 3 and 8 of the Convention about compulsory hair and beard shaving he was subjected to from 2007 to 2016.
Lastly, he alleges that he does not have an effective domestic remedy in respect of his complaints under Articles 3 and 8 of the Convention, as required by Article 13 of the Convention.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Have the conditions of the applicant’s detention in correctional colony no. IK-56 in the Sverdlovsk Region from July 2007 to date been compatible with the standards set out in Article 3 of the Convention (see Gorbulya v. Russia, no. 31535/09, §§ 92-98, 6 March 2014)?
2. As regards the absolute ban for the applicant to have hair or beard, has there been a violation of the applicant’s rights set out in Article 3 and 8 of the Convention (see Yankov v. Bulgaria, no. 39084/97, §§ 103-22, ECHR 2003‑XII (extracts), and Biržietis v. Lithuania, no. 49304/09, §§ 45‑58, 14 June 2016)
3. Did the applicant have an effective domestic remedy in respect of his grievances under Articles 3 and 8 of the Convention, as required by Article 13 of the Convention?
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