AS TO THE ADMISSIBILITY OF
Application No. 27507/95
by M. Cz.
against Poland
The European Commission of Human Rights (Second Chamber) sitting
in private on 2 July 1997, the following members being present:
Mrs. G.H. THUNE, President
MM. J.-C. GEUS
G. JÖRUNDSSON
A. GÖZÜBÜYÜK
J.-C. SOYER
H. DANELIUS
F. MARTINEZ
M.A. NOWICKI
I. CABRAL BARRETO
J. MUCHA
D. SVÁBY
P. LORENZEN
E. BIELIUNAS
E.A. ALKEMA
A. ARABADJIEV
Ms. M.-T. SCHOEPFER, Secretary to the Chamber
Having regard to Article 25 of the Convention for the Protection
of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;
Having regard to the application introduced on 19 January 1995
by M. Cz. against Poland and registered on 2 June 1995 under
file No. 27507/95;
Having regard to the report provided for in Rule 47 of the Rules
of Procedure of the Commission;
Having deliberated;
Decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicant, a Polish citizen, born in 1962, is currently
detained in Wadowice prison.
The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be
summarised as follows:
Particular circumstances of the case
Since 1972 the applicant has been suffering from epilepsy. On
an unspecified date he was granted the so-called "second degree of
disability" due to his state of health.
a) Events which took place in 1993 in Strzelce Opolskie prison
On 23 June 1993 an incident took place between the applicant and
ten prison officers. As a consequence, the applicant was stripped and
forcibly placed by the officers in solitary confinement for an
unspecified period.
On 28 June 1993 the applicant complained to the Strzelce Opolskie
District Prosecutor (Prokurator Rejonowy) that he had been assaulted
by prison officers and that the unlawful use of force against him had
resulted in actual bodily harm. On 3 July 1993 the prosecutor heard
evidence from the applicant and, apparently, a medical statement
concerning the applicant's injuries was made on the same day. On an
unspecified date the prosecutor instituted investigations into the
applicant's complaint.
On 13 July 1993 the prison authorities requested the Strzelce
Opolskie District Prosecutor to institute criminal proceedings against
the applicant on suspicion that he had attacked four prison officers,
thereby obstructing them in the course of their duties, that he had
assaulted two other prison officers and had insulted five of them. On
an unspecified date investigations commenced into the allegations
against the applicant. On 18 October 1993 the prosecutor ordered that
the material contained in the case-file be separated and that two
parallel investigations be conducted in relation to the incident of 23
June 1993.
On 25 October 1993 the Strzelce Opolskie District Prosecutor
discontinued the investigations instituted at the applicant's request.
On an unspecified date this decision was quashed by the Opole Regional
Prosecutor (Prokurator Wojewódzki) and further investigations were
ordered. On 31 January 1994 the Strzelce Opolskie District Prosecutor
again discontinued the proceedings. This decision was upheld by the
Opole Regional Prosecutor on 7 March 1994.
In the meantime, on 29 October 1993, the Strzelce Opolskie
District Prosecutor lodged a bill of indictment against the applicant
with the Strzelce Opolskie District Court. By a judgment of 16
December 1994 the court of first instance sentenced the applicant to
one year and four months' imprisonment for assaulting and insulting the
prison officers. On 10 March 1995 the Opole Regional Court (S*d
Wojewódzki), upon the applicant's appeal, upheld the judgment of the
court of first instance.
b) Events which took place in 1996 in Wadowice prison
On an unspecified date at the beginning of 1996, the applicant
was transferred to Wadowice prison.
On 29 February 1996 the applicant complained to the Wadowice
District Prosecutor that the prison authorities had disseminated
pornography by means of cable television. He requested the prosecutor
to institute criminal proceedings against the Governor of Wadowice
Prison on suspicion that the latter had committed the offence of
dissemination of pornography. It appears that on an unspecified date
the prosecutor instituted investigations in respect of the matter
complained of.
On 19 or 20 March 1996 the prison officers took a television set
and video-cassette player belonging to the applicant away from him.
They informed him that he would soon be transferred to another cell in
which there was a television set and that therefore he would not need
his own.
On 23 March 1996 the applicant was transferred to the cell of an
inmate, J.B. In the meantime the prison guards had allegedly spread
information that he had been convicted of sexual offences against
children and that his complaint to the Wadowice District Prosecutor
about dissemination of pornography had resulted in limitations on the
other prisoners' access to films and television programmes. This
resulted in a hostile attitude of prison inmates to the applicant. As
from 23 March 1996 the applicant's inmate beat, kicked and insulted
him. On 8 April 1996 a fight broke out between the two of them. As
a result, the applicant was injured, i.e. he had injuries to his head,
a broken nose and bruises on his body. During the incident three or
four prison guards opened the cell door and laughed; however, they did
not intervene. On 9 April 1996 the applicant was examined by a prison
doctor.
In the meantime the applicant was subjected to regular body
searches, i.e. the so-called "nude check" before and after all of his
frequent visits to the prison infirmary, any exercise in the open air
and any contact with his family.
On 23 April 1996 two prison officers, i.e. lieutenants Cz. and
M.B., searched the applicant's cell in the presence of the applicant
and his next inmate, W.L. The officers seized three of the applicant's
letters containing his complaints addressed to the Wadowice District
Prosecutor, the Helsinki Committee of Human Rights and the Bielsko-
Biala Regional Court. They also took photos of the applicant's family
and his agenda.
On 24 April 1996 the Governor of Wadowice Prison punished the
applicant under the disciplinary rules, i.e. he ordered that the
applicant be deprived of contact with his family for a period of three
months.
On 26 June 1996 the applicant, during the prison roll-call, was
beaten up, then kicked and dragged by the prison officers W.J. and S.B.
to a cell where he was kept in solitary confinement. On an unspecified
date he was examined by a prison doctor and an X-ray examination was
done on three occasions since the applicant was suffering from head
injuries.
Subsequently, on an unspecified date the applicant requested the
Wadowice District Prosecutor to institute criminal proceedings against
the persons who had beaten him up on 26 June 1996. The proceedings
were discontinued by a decision of the Wadowice District Prosecutor
of 27 September 1996. On 25 November 1996 the Bielsko-Biala Regional
Prosecutor, upon the applicant's appeal, upheld the above-mentioned
decision.
In the meantime, on an unspecified date in August 1996, the
prison officers searched the applicant's cell in the night and took
copies of his numerous complaints about the treatment in prison and his
various letters away from him.
Relevant domestic law and practice
1. The medical records concerning the treatment of a convict in the
course of his detention are kept in the prison archives. In case of
any injury sustained by a convict in prison, a medical report must be
included in his files. In principle, such documents are not in a
convict's possession.
2. According to Rule 10 of the Polish Prison Rules of 1989 (as
amended) convicted persons shall be subjected to a search if necessary.
Such search may include an inspection of clothing, underwear, shoes or
the prison cell as well as of objects delivered to or transferred from
convicts to other persons. The search may take place at any time. The
objects found during the search may be seized if their possession is
forbidden. Notes and other written matter may be submitted to the
prosecutor if their content suggests that an offence has been
committed.
3. Under Rule 31 the censorship of convicted persons' correspondence
is permitted, except for correspondence with public organs, including
courts and prosecutors, the Ombudsman and the international
institutions for the protection of human rights established by virtue
of the treaties to which Poland is a contracting party.
COMPLAINTS
1. In respect of events which took place in Strzelce Opolskie prison
on 23 June 1993 the applicant complains that he was subjected to
inhuman and degrading treatment in view of the brutal and excessive use
of force against him by several prison officers. He submits that his
subsequent placement in solitary confinement amounted to inhuman
treatment in view of the fact that he has been suffering from epilepsy.
The applicant does not invoke any specific provision of the Convention
in support of these complaints.
2. Further, the applicant raises various complaints relating to his
detention in Wadowice prison in 1996:
a) that on 26 June 1996 the prison guards brutally assaulted him and
placed him in solitary confinement, which amounts to inhuman
treatment;
b) that the prison authorities spread information about his
conviction and his complaints about the dissemination of pornography
in prison in order to subject him to a hostile attitude of the prison
community;
c) that the authorities failed to protect him sufficiently against
the assault by a fellow cell inmate on 8 April 1996;
d) that he was repeatedly subjected to degrading body searches, i.e.
the so-called "nude checks";
e) that the authorities on various occasions seized his personal
belongings and refused to give them back to him;
f) that the deprivation of contact with his family for a period of
three months was inhuman and disproportionate, in particular in view
of the fact that the prisoner who had assaulted him was not subjected
to any severe measures;
g) that on 23 April and in August 1996 the prison authorities seized
his correspondence, including that with the courts, his family photos
and the copies of his various complaints;
The applicant does not invoke any specific provision of the
Convention in respect of these complaints.
THE LAW
1. The applicant complains that on 23 June 1993 he was subjected to
inhuman and degrading treatment in view of the brutal and excessive use
of force against him by several officers of Strzelce Opolskie prison.
In this connection he submits that his subsequent detention in
solitary confinement also amounted to inhuman treatment in view of the
fact that he has been suffering from epilepsy.
The Commission notes that by their nature the applicant's above
complaints would fall within the scope of Article 3 (Art. 3) of the
Convention, which provides:
"No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment."
However, the Commission is not required to decide whether or not
the facts submitted by the applicant in support of these complaints
disclose any appearance of a violation of the Convention as, according
to Article 26 (Art. 26) of the Convention, it may only deal with the
matter "within a period of six months from the date on which the final
decision was taken".
As in the present case the final decision discontinuing the
investigations instituted at the applicant's request was taken on
7 March 1994 by the Opole Regional Prosecutor, whereas the applicant
introduced his complaint on 19 January 1995, he did not comply with the
six-month time-limit referred to in Article 26 (Art. 26) of the
Convention.
It follows that this part of the application has been lodged out
of time and must be rejected in accordance with Article 27 para. 3
(Art. 27-3) of the Convention.
2. The applicant also raises various complaints relating to his
detention in Wadowice prison in 1996. In particular, he complains that
on 26 June 1996 the prison guards assaulted him and placed him in
solitary confinement, that the prison authorities failed to protect him
sufficiently against the assault by a fellow cell inmate on 8 April
1996, that he was repeatedly subjected to degrading body searches, that
the authorities on various occasions seized his personal belongings,
that he was deprived of contact with his family for a period of three
months and that on 23 April and in August 1996 the prison authorities
seized his correspondence.
The Commission considers that it cannot, on the basis of the
file, determine the admissibility of these complaints and that it is
therefore necessary in accordance with Rule 48 para. 2 (b) of the
Commission's Rules of Procedure, to give notice of the complaints to
the respondent Government.
For these reasons, the Commission,
DECIDES TO ADJOURN the examination of the applicant's complaints
concerning ill-treatment by prison officers and their failure to
protect him from assault as well as the seizure of the
applicant's correspondence and belongings, and the restrictions
on the applicant's contacts with his family, relating to the
facts which occurred in 1996 in Wadowice prison.
unanimously,
DECLARES INADMISSIBLE the remainder of the application.
M.-T. SCHOEPFER G.H. THUNE
Secretary President
to the Second Chamber of the Second Chamber
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy