FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 20359/20
João Miguel SARREIRA ALBUQUERQUE against Portugal
and 3 other applications
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 6 October 2022 as a Committee composed of:
Armen Harutyunyan, President,
Jolien Schukking,
Ana Maria Guerra Martins, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table,
Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent Government and the observations in reply submitted by the applicants,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The list of applicants is set out in the appended table.
The applicants’ complaints under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention and the lack of an effective remedy in this respect were communicated to the Portuguese Government (“the Government”).
THE LAW
Joinder of the applicationsHaving regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.
Complaints under Article 3 of the Convention (inadequate conditions of detention)In the present applications, having examined all the material before it, the Court considers that for the reasons stated below, the complaints about the conditions of detention are inadmissible.
Conditions of detention concerning the last period of detentionThe applicants were detained in different prison facilities. During their last, most recent and/or current period of detention, the applicants were detained at Alcoentre Prison (application no. 20359/20), Carregueira Prison (applications nos. 46240/20 and 26363/20) and Pinheiro da Cruz Prison (application no. 28884/20).
Having regard to all of the available material and the parties’ arguments, the Court finds that it cannot be established that the applicants suffered in these prison facilities from severe overcrowding of the kind that could entail, on its own, a violation of Article 3 (see Muršić v. Croatia [GC], no. 7334/13, 20 October 2016) nor can it be found that the cumulative effect of the other aspects of the detention which the applicants complained about reached the threshold of severity required to characterise the treatment as inhuman or degrading within the meaning of Article 3 (see Bokor v. Portugal, no. 5227/18, § 32-34, 10 December 2020).
In view of the above, the Court finds that the complaints related to these periods of the applicants’ detention (for further details see the appended table) are manifestly ill-founded and must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 and 4 of the Convention.
Conditions of detention before their last prison transferConcerning application no. 28884/20, in light of the conclusion above, the Court finds that the applicant’s transfer to the last prison facility interrupted the “continuing situation” of detention. Therefore, the applicant’s complaints concerning the conditions of his detention during the period prior to his last prison transfer are belated (see Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 75-78, 10 January 2012) and must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 1 and 4 of the Convention.
Complaints under Article 13 (lack of effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention)Under Article 13 of the Convention, the applicants also complained of the lack of an effective remedy in respect of their conditions of detention. The Court notes that, according to its established case-law, Article 13 of the Convention applies only where an individual has an “arguable claim” to be the victim of a violation of a Convention right (see Boyle and Rice v. the United Kingdom, 27 April 1988, § 52, Series A no. 131, and Narcisio v. Netherlands (dec.), no. 47810/99, 27 January 2005). Having regard to the findings above as to the applicants’ complaints under Article 3 of the Convention, the Court concludes that they are not “arguable” for the purposes of Article 13. It follows that this complaint must also be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 and 4 of the Convention.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to join the applications;
Declares the applications inadmissible.
Done in English and notified in writing on 27 October 2022.
Viktoriya Maradudina Armen Harutyunyan
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention
(inadequate conditions of detention)
No.
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant’s name
Year of birth
Representative’s name and location
Facility
Start and end date
Duration
Sq. m per inmate
Specific grievances
Other complaints under well-established case-law
20359/20
04/05/2020
João Miguel SARREIRA ALBUQUERQUE
1973
Vítor Carreto
Torres Vedras
Alcoentre Prison
03/10/2019 to
30/08/2020
10 months and 28 days
Alcoentre Prison
30/08/2020 to
04/11/2020
2 months and 6 days
1 inmate
4.81-8.9 m²
1 toilet
2 inmates
8.9 m²
1 toilet
lack or insufficient quantity of food
Idem
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
26365/20
16/06/2020
João RIBEIRO JOSÉ
1945
Vítor Carreto
Torres Vedras
Carregueira Prison
07/04/2016 to
05/09/2016
4 months and 30 days
Carregueira Prison
05/09/2016 to
22/06/2021
4 years and 9 months and 18 days
Carregueira Prison
22/06/2021
pending
More than 1 year and 2 months and 19 days
6 inmates
5.12 m²
1 toilet
5 inmates
6.14 m²
1 toilet
3 inmates
8 m²
1 toilet
lack of fresh air
Idem
Idem
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
28884/20
07/07/2020
Bento Manuel ARSÉNIO PEREIRA
1969
Vítor Carreto
Torres Vedras
Setúbal Prison
30/11/2001 to
06/06/2002
6 months and 8 days
Beja Prison
06/06/2002 to
10/11/2008
6 years and 5 months and 5 days
Lisbon Central Prison
10/11/2008 to
28/10/2010
1 year and 11 months and 19 days
Pinheiro da Cruz Prison
28/10/2010
pending
More than 11 years and 10 months and 10 days
3 inmates
1.667 m²
1 toilet
7 inmates
1,57 m²
1 toilet
2 inmates
3 m²
1 toilet
1 inmate
5.55 m²
1 toilet
overcrowding
overcrowding
overcrowding
poor quality of food, sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.
46240/20
13/10/2020
Casimiro JOSÉ FERREIRA
1958
Vítor Carreto
Torres Vedras
Carregueira Prison
18/08/2015 to
26/08/2015
9 days
Carregueira Prison
26/08/2015 to
09/03/2017
1 year and 6 months and 12 days
Carregueira Prison
09/03/2017 to
20/04/2018
1 year and 1 month and 12 days
Carregueira Prison
20/04/2018 to
01/01/2019
8 months and 13 days
Carregueira Prison
01/01/2019
pending
More than 3 years and 8 months and 8 days
1 inmate
7.7 m²
1 toilet
5 inmates
6.14 m²
1 toilet
5 inmates
6.76 m²
1 toilet
5 inmates
6.76 m²
1 toilet
6 inmates
5.12 m²
1 toilet
poor quality of food, sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease
Idem
Idem
Idem
Idem
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention.