Communicated on 25 February 2016
FOURTH SECTION
Application no. 71645/13
Miguel Angel YANEZ PINON against Malta
and 2 other applications
(see list appended)
STATEMENT OF FACTS
A list of the applicants is set out in the appendix.
A. The circumstances of the case
The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicants, may be summarised as follows.
1. Mr Yanez Pinon (the first applicant)
The first applicant is of Mexican nationality and is serving a sentence of thirteen years’ imprisonment at the Corradino Correctional Facility, Paola. The sentence was imposed on him by the Criminal Court for drug related offences. The Criminal Court also ordered the applicant to pay a fine of EUR 30,000 as well as EUR 1,898.21 as court expert expenses, which were to be converted into a further eighteen months’ imprisonment in default of payment.
The applicant alleges that he was detained in Division 6 from 12 September 2006 until 23 August 2008. He claims that during this period he was unable to use any electronic equipment, work, study or go to church and that he has suffered psychological torture and inhuman and degrading treatment. The applicant claims that he is neither aggressive nor an addict and that there was no reason why he should have been placed in Division 6 which was intended to host very dangerous, problematic, aggressive and addicted prisoners.
At present, the first applicant is detained in Division 3. He alleges that the cell facilities, including health facilities are in breach of the Convention.
He notes that the cell windows are very small, that there is a lack of ventilation and that there is no natural lighting. The provision of water is insufficient and the applicant has to use a bucket to flush his toilet.
He alleges to suffer from after-effect symptoms of physical and psychological stress. In this regard, the applicant states that he was assisted by the prison psychologist, who prescribed medicine to help him sleep as well as painkillers. The psychologist also suggested that the applicant be referred to the psychiatric hospital. The Court has not been informed that this transfer has taken place.
2. Mana Owusa (the second applicant)
The applicant is a Ghanaian national and is currently serving a term of imprisonment of eleven years for drug related offences at the Corradino Correctional Facility, Paola. The Criminal Court which sentenced him on 26 September 2012 had also imposed a fine of EUR 30,000, which the applicant was to pay within two months, in default of which it would be converted to a further term of one year imprisonment. The Criminal Court also ordered the applicant to pay EUR 1,032.71 in connection with the appointment of experts. Likewise, this sum would be converted into a term of imprisonment if it were not paid (within fifteen days).
The judgment was confirmed on appeal.
The applicant complains about the conditions of his detention.
He claims that he is forced to buy drinking water, as the available water is undrinkable. Since there is no laundry service in prison and since he is not provided with clean clothing, he depends on charity clothes, which do not always fit him.
The applicant alleges that his cell is old and he is living in squalor. The cell walls contain asbestos and the old paint is peeling off from the walls and the ceiling. Moreover, according to the applicant, the building is infested by rats and cockroaches.
During summer, the cell is too hot and since the cell-window is too small, ventilation is not sufficient. On the other hand, during winter the cell is freezing cold. No heater is provided in cells and the blankets are not adequate. The applicant states that he has to wear his winter jacket to be able to sleep.
The applicant, a non-smoker, complains that he is not separated from inmates who smoke. He is, thus, a victim of passive smoking during every hour of the day.
According to the applicant he is regularly not served breakfast and more than 95% of the food served in prison consists of bread and pasta. He also states that whilst tobacco is easily accessible, fresh fruits are mostly restricted. Occasionally, expired apples that cannot be sold in local supermarkets are brought to inmates.
3. Del Rosario (the third applicant)
The applicant, a Dutch national, is currently detained in Corradino Correctional Facility. It is not known whether he is in preventive custody or serving a term of imprisonment consequent to a court judgment.
He states that his cell-window is at more than two metres height, therefore, he has to climb on something to open it. The measurements of his cell window are 80 x 50 centimetres and it has three metal bars preventing the entry of natural lighting.
According to the applicant, during winter, the temperature in his cell could be as low as 10oC and yet he is not allowed to have a heater in his cell. In winter, the applicant suffers from arthritis which causes him unbearable pain. Nevertheless, he is not able to use Voltaren (which is the only medicine provided by the prison authorities) since he suffers from Hepatitis C.
The applicant alleges that during summer the cells are infested with cockroaches. Furthermore, his cell becomes very hot and there was a lack of ventilation. However, prison regulations restrict the number of fans in each cell to one. Although the applicant has two fans in his cell, he notes that in summer they only circulate hot air and the steel door of the cell prevents any air circulation. In contrast he noted that the offices of prison personnel (who were subject to the same temperatures) were equipped with air conditioning and heating facilities.
The applicant claims that in winter the provision of hot water is not sufficient to cater for around sixty inmates in his division. Furthermore, the water is not drinkable, and he has to purchase drinkable water, which is only possible when he has money. He claimed that when he does not have any money, he would have to drink the undrinkable water, which causes him skin blemishes. He noted that distribution of drinkable water only reaches prison personnel, but not the detainees.
Moreover, the applicant claims that inmates do not have access to a laundry and foreign inmates are not given soap to wash their clothes, cells and toilets.
According to the applicant, the building is a hundred years old and it does not have adequate conditions. Dust falls from the applicant’s cell’s ceiling and walls, which he then breathes in.
The applicant also states that since he was not provided with tablets for his migraine, he had to buy such tablets for six years.
B. Relevant domestic law
The relevant domestic law pertaining to this case can be found in Story and Others v. Malta (nos. 56854/13, 57005/13 and 57043/13, §§ 49‑58, 29 October 2015).
COMPLAINTS
Invoking Article 3 of the Convention the applicants complain that the conditions of their detention amount to inhuman or degrading treatment in violation of Article 3. They also complain about the lack of medical assistance, to the various extents, as explained in the facts.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Did the conditions of the detention facility (alone or in combination with other conditions) amount to inhuman and degrading treatment, contrary to Article 3 of the Convention?
2. Have the applicants been denied access to the necessary medical treatment while in prison, in breach of Article 3 of the Convention?
3. The Government are invited to submit the relevant details in respect of the conditions of the applicants’ detention, their medical conditions and the relevant treatment. All the pertinent medical records and prescriptions in respect of the applicants should likewise be submitted (see Aleksanyan v. Russia, no. 46468/06, § 147, 22 December 2008).
Appendix
No
Application No
Lodged on
Applicant
Date of birth
Place of residence
71645/13
30/10/2013
Miguel Angel YANEZ PINON
29/08/1963
Paola
7143/14
11/03/2014
Stephen MANA OWUSU
18/03/1976
Paola
20342/15
21/05/2015
Jose Luis DEL ROSARIO
21/05/1961
Paola
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