THIRD SECTION

CASE OF DANILOV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA

(Applications nos. 28714/18 and 4 others – see appended list)

JUDGMENT

STRASBOURG

13 October 2022

This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.

In the case of Danilov and Others v. Russia,

The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:

Darian Pavli , President,

Andreas Zünd ,

Frédéric Krenc , judges, and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having deliberated in private on 15 September 2022,

Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:

PROCEDURE

1. The case originated in applications against Russia lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on the various dates indicated in the appended table.

2. Notice of the applications was given to the Russian Government (“the Government”).

THE FACTS

3. The list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.

4. The applicants alleged that they did not receive adequate medical care in detention and that there was no effective remedy in that regard. In application no. 41495/18, the applicant also raised other complaints under the provisions of the Convention.

THE LAW

5. Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.

6. The applicants complained principally that they were not afforded adequate medical treatment in detention. They relied on Article 3 of the Convention, which reads as follows:

Article 3

“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

7. The Court notes that the applicants suffered from serious medical conditions, as indicated in the appended table, which affected their everyday functioning. Therefore, they could have experienced considerable anxiety as to whether the medical care provided to them was adequate.

8. The Court reiterates that the “adequacy” of medical assistance remains the most difficult element to determine (see Blokhin v. Russia [GC], no. 47152/06, § 137, ECHR 2016). It has clarified in this context that the authorities must ensure that diagnosis and care are prompt and accurate (see, for example, Gorbulya v. Russia , no. 31535/09, § 62, 6 March 2014, with further references, and Pokhlebin v. Ukraine , no. 35581/06, § 62, 20 May 2010, with further references) and that ‒ where necessitated by the nature of a medical condition ‒ supervision is regular and systematic and involves a comprehensive therapeutic strategy aimed at successfully treating the detainee’s health problems or preventing their aggravation (see, inter alia , Ukhan v. Ukraine , no. 30628/02, § 74, 18 December 2008, with further references, and Kolesnikovich v. Russia , no. 44694/13, § 70, 22 March 2016, with further references). The Court stresses that medical treatment within prison facilities must be appropriate and comparable to the quality of treatment which the State authorities have committed themselves to providing for the entirety of the population. Nevertheless, this does not mean that each detainee must be guaranteed the same level of medical treatment that is available in the best health establishments outside prison facilities (see, for instance, Sadretdinov v. Russia , no. 17564/06, § 67, 24 May 2016, with further references, and Konovalchuk v. Ukraine , no. 31928/15, § 52, 13 October 2016, with further references)

9. Having examined all the material submitted to it, the Court has identified the shortcomings in the applicants’ medical treatment, which are listed in the appended table. The Court has already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case (see Blokhin v. Russia [GC] , no. 47152/06, §§ 120-50, ECHR 2016; Reshetnyak v. Russia, no. 56027/10, §§ 49-101, 8 January 2013; and Koryak v. Russia, no. 24677/10, §§ 70-110, 13 November 2012). Bearing in mind its case-law on the subject, the Court considers that in the instant case the applicants did not receive comprehensive and adequate medical care whilst in detention.

10. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.

11. The applicants also complained that no effective domestic remedies regarding the quality of the medical care in detention were available to them. Their complaints fall to be examined under Article 13 of the Convention, which reads as follows:

Article 13

“Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in this Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority ...”

12. The Court has on many occasions established that there is a lack of effective domestic remedies to complain about the quality of medical treatment in detention (see, among many other authorities, Reshetnyak, cited above, §§ 49-101, and Koryak , cited above, §§ 70-110). In the aforementioned cases the Court established that none of the legal avenues suggested by the Government constituted an effective remedy to prevent the alleged violations or stop them from continuing, or to provide the applicants with adequate and sufficient redress for their complaints under Article 3 of the Convention.

13. The Court sees no reason which would justify departure from its well ‑ established case-law on the issue. It finds that the applicants did not have at their disposal an effective domestic remedy for their complaints, in breach of Article 13 of the Convention.

14. In application no. 41495/18, the applicant submitted other complaints which also raised issues under the Convention, given the relevant well ‑ established case-law of the Court (see the appended table). These complaints are not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 (a) of the Convention, nor are they inadmissible on any other ground. Accordingly, they must be declared admissible. Having examined all the material before it, the Court concludes that they also disclose violations of the Convention in the light of its well-established case-law (see Idalov v. Russia [GC], §§ 103 ‑ 08, no. 5826/03, 22 May 2012, and Tomov and Others v. Russia , nos. 18255/10 and 5 others, §§ 92-156, 9 April 2019, concerning conditions of transport during detention and the lack of an effective remedy in that respect).

15. The applicant complained under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention about conditions of detention after conviction and lack of an effective remedy in this connection. Having regard to the facts of the case, the submissions of the parties, and its findings above, the Court considers that it has dealt with the main legal questions raised by the case and that there is no need to examine these complaints (see Centre for Legal Resources on behalf of Valentin Câmpeanu v. Romania [GC], no. 47848/08, § 156, ECHR 2014).

16. Article 41 of the Convention provides:

“If the Court finds that there has been a violation of the Convention or the Protocols thereto, and if the internal law of the High Contracting Party concerned allows only partial reparation to be made, the Court shall, if necessary, afford just satisfaction to the injured party.”

17. Regard being had to the documents in its possession, to its case ‑ law (see, in particular, Tselovalnik v. Russia, no. 28333/13, §§ 70-77, 8 October 2015, and Kolesnikovich, cited above, §§ 82-92), and to previous award paid to Mr Shelest for a violation of his right to adequate medical aid (see Kovalev and Others v. Russia [Committee], no. 38777/04 and 5 others, § 18, 30 November 2017), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.

18. The Court further considers it appropriate that the default interest rate should be based on the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank, to which should be added three percentage points.

FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,

(a) that the respondent State is to pay the applicants, within three months, the amounts indicated in the appended table, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement;

(b) that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amounts at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.

Done in English, and notified in writing on 13 October 2022, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.

Viktoriya Maradudina Darian Pavli

Acting Deputy Registrar President

APPENDIX

List of applications raising complaints under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention

(inadequate medical treatment in detention and lack of any effective remedy in domestic law)

No.

Application no.

Date of introduction

Applicant’s name

Year of birth

Representative’s name and location

Principal medical condition

Shortcomings in medical treatment

Dates

Other complaints under well-established case-law

Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros) [1]

28714/18

08/06/2018

Denis Leonidovich DANILOV

1974Sagadiyev Aleksey Ernstovich

Moscow

Acute kidney dysfunction

Lack of/delay in consultation by a specialist, lack of/delay in medical examination, lack of/delay in medical testing, absence of the necessary specialists in the detention facility (urologist, an oncology specialist) and inability to properly organise requisite examinations and testing in a specialised medical facility, lacking/delayed drug therapy, the applicant was detained in the indicated period in IZ-77/1 Moscow

17/01/2018 to 16/07/2018

6 month(s)

5,000

34231/18

12/07/2018

Aleksey Vladimirovich SHELEST

1979Bezhanova Yelizaveta Mikhaylovna

Moscow

Cancer, (lymphatic leukaemia)

Lack of/delay in consultation by a specialist, lacking/delayed drug therapy

19/11/2013 - pending

More than 8 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 24 day(s)

5,000

41495/18

25/07/2018

Aleksey Yuryevich KOROSTELEV

1963Absence of teeth

Lack of dental prosthesis (repair) / lack of food suitable for the applicant’s dental condition, the applicant was detained in IK-1 of the Komi Republic

14/08/2014 to 14/02/2020

5 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 1 day(s)

Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport

Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - A night-time journey by train,

on 27-28/05/2019 from Syktyvkar to Ukhta; insufficient number of sleeping places; lack of fresh air; no or restricted access to toilet.

16,000

47688/18

24/09/2018

Andrey Mikhaylovich SOKOVNIN

1969Asthma

Lacking/delayed drug therapy, in the prison regional hospital FKZU MSCH-66 FSIN of correctional colony no. 26 in the Sverdlovsk Region

27/07/2018 to 23/01/2019

5 month(s) and 28 day(s)

5,000

4829/19

16/07/2019

Vyacheslav Gennadyevich GOLAYDOV

1978Hearing disorder

Lack of a functioning hearing device, lack of/delay in medical examination, lack of/delay in medical testing, lack of/delay in consultation by a specialist

13/01/2017 - pending

More than 5 year(s) and 30 day(s)

15,000

[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.