Communicated on 23 November 2016
FOURTH SECTION
Application no. 59460/12
Andrzej PAWEŁKOWICZ
against Poland
lodged on 3 September 2012
STATEMENT OF FACTS
The applicant, Mr Andrzej Pawełkowicz, is a Polish national who was born in 1958. He is currently detained in Czarne Prison.
A. The circumstances of the case
The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows.
The applicant has been in prison since an unspecified date. At the material time he was serving his sentence in Płock Prison.
1. The strip-search of 22 March 2012
On 22 March 2012 the applicant was going to be transferred to court for a hearing. After leaving his cell the prison guards took him to a recreation room (świetlica) where they ordered him to undress in order to carry out a strip-search. He refused because the door and window were wide open and the room was cold.
The applicant was taken to the prison guards’ office and a superior officer was informed of his refusal to undergo the strip-search.
Four prison guards were then ordered to put on protective gloves in case they needed to use force on him. The applicant was informed that coercive measures might be used on him, so he complied with the orders and agreed to undress. The strip-search was performed by two guards.
2. Complaints to the prison authorities
The applicant complained about the incident to the prison authorities. He claimed that the strip-search had caused him psychological discomfort and anguish.
On 27 April 2012 the governor of Płock Prison dismissed his complaint, deciding that the strip-search had been conducted in accordance with domestic law.
In the meantime, on 26 March 2012 the governor imposed a disciplinary punishment on the applicant for non-compliance with the prison officers’ orders on 22 March 2012. His right to have direct contact with visitors was suspended for one month. On 16 May 2012 the Płock Regional Court upheld that decision.
On 31 May 2012 the Łódź Director of the Regional Inspectorate of the Prison Service dismissed a further complaint by the applicant regarding the strip-search. He stressed that, according to the law, personal searches had to be conducted by a person of the same sex and in a manner respecting the dignity of the person concerned. All those conditions had been fulfilled in the applicant’s case. The search had been conducted in a separate room. Moreover, given his behaviour by refusing to undergo a strip-search, the prison guards had been correct in assessing that means of direct coercion might be necessary.
3. Criminal complaint
The applicant informed the Płock district prosecutor’s office about the incident, requesting that criminal proceedings be instituted. He also submitted that two strip-searches had been carried out on the day in question, one before leaving the prison and the other on his return from court. The applicant claimed that during the first search he had felt threatened by the officers.
On 30 April 2012 the prosecutor’s office refused to institute proceedings on the grounds that there was nothing to show that the strip-search had been conducted in violation of the law.
On 15 June 2012 the Płock District Court upheld that decision, finding that the strip-search had been conducted in accordance with domestic law and had been necessary in the circumstances of the case.
B. Relevant domestic law
The relevant domestic law concerning strip-searches is set out in the Court’s judgment in the case of Piechowicz v. Poland, no. 20071/07, § 110, 17 April 2012.
COMPLAINT
The applicant complains under Article 3 of the Convention about the strip-search carried out on 22 March 2012.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Has the applicant been subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment, in breach of Article 3 of the Convention? Reference is made to the strip‑search of the applicant carried out on 22 March 2012.
2. Does the strip-search give rise to a violation of the applicant’s right to respect for his private life, contrary to Article 8 of the Convention?
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