Lexploria

THIRD SECTION

CASE OF SATYR AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA

(Applications nos. 70387/16 and 14 others – see appended list)

JUDGMENT

STRASBOURG

12 January 2023

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

In the case of Satyr and Others v. Russia,

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

Darian Pavli , President , Ioannis Ktistakis, Andreas Zünd , judges ,

and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having deliberated in private on 8 December 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. The Russian Government (“the Government”) were given notice of the applications.

THE FACTS

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

4. The applicants complained of the inadequate conditions of their detention. Some applicants 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 of the inadequate conditions of their detention. They relied on Article 3 of the Convention, which reads as follows:

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

7. The Court notes that the applicants were kept in detention in poor conditions. The details of the applicants’ detention are indicated in the appended table. The Court refers to the principles established in its case ‑ law regarding inadequate conditions of detention (see, for instance, MurÅ¡ić v. Croatia [GC], no. 7334/13, 20 October 2016; Kud Å‚a v. Poland [GC], no. 30210/96, §§ 90 ‑ 94, ECHR 2000 ‑ XI; and Ananyev and Others v. Russia , nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 139 ‑ 65, 10 January 2012). It reiterates in particular that extreme lack of space in a prison cell or overcrowding weighs heavily as an aspect to be taken into account for the purpose of establishing whether the impugned detention conditions were “degrading” from the point of view of Article 3 and may disclose a violation, both alone or taken together with other shortcomings (see, amongst many authorities, Karalevičius v. Lithuania , no. 53254/99, §§ 36-40, 7 April 2005).

8. In the leading case of Sergey Babushkin v. Russia, no. 5993/08, 28 November 2013, the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.

9. Having examined all the material submitted to it, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion on the admissibility and merits of these complaints. Having regard to its case-law on the subject, the Court considers that in the instant case the applicants’ conditions of detention were inadequate.

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

11. The applicant in application no. 28183/18 submitted other complaints which also raised issues under the Convention, given the relevant well-established case-law of the Court (see 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 Gorlov and Others v. Russia , nos. 27057/06 and 2 others, 2 July 2019, concerning permanent video surveillance of detainees).

12. In applications no. 9402/20, the applicant also raised other complaints under various Articles of the Convention.

13. The Court has examined the application and considers that, in the light of all the material in its possession and in so far as the matters complained of are within its competence, these complaints either do not meet the admissibility criteria set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention or do not disclose any appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Convention or the Protocols thereto.

It follows that this part of the application must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention.

14. Some applicants also submitted a complaint under Article 13 of the Convention related to the lack of remedies to complain about poor conditions of detention. The Court does not consider it necessary to examine the complaint separately.

15. 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.”

16. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case ‑ law (see, in particular, Sergey Babushkin v. Russia, (just satisfaction), no. 5993/08, 16 October 2014, and Mozharov and Others v. Russia, nos. 16401/12 and 9 others, 21 March 2017), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.

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 during the default period plus three percentage points.

Done in English, and notified in writing on 12 January 2023, 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 Article 3 of the Convention

(inadequate conditions of detention after conviction)

No.

Application no.

Date of introduction

Applicant’s name

Year of birth

Representative’s name and location

Facility

Start and end date

Duration

Inmates per brigade

Sq. m per inmate

Number of toilets per brigade

Specific grievances

Other complaints under well-established case-law

Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant

(in euros) [1]

70387/16

10/11/2016

Aleksey Gennadyevich SATYR

1981Zlobin Sergey Vladimirovich

Moscow

IK-5 Mordovia Republic

11/05/2016

pending

More than 6 year(s) and

5 month(s) and 24 day(s)

overcrowding, lack of fresh air, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of toiletries, insufficient number of sleeping places

12,500

69770/17

08/09/2017

Roman Valeryevich STARODUBTSEV

1978Vinogradov Aleksandr Vladimirovich

Kostroma

IK-29 Arkhangelsk Region

03/03/2016

pending

More than 6 year(s) and

8 month(s) and 1 day(s)

130 inmate(s)

2 m²

6 toilet(s)

infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of privacy for toilet, lack or insufficient quantity of food, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to shower, overcrowding, sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease, poor quality of food

12,500

1140/18

11/12/2017

Andrey Sergeyevich CHISTYAKOV

1973Vinogradov Aleksandr Vladimirovich

Kostroma

IK-1 Kostroma Region

01/04/2008

pending

More than 14 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 3 day(s)

2 m²

constant electric light, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of requisite medical assistance, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food

12,500

6644/18

10/01/2018

Yevgeniy Sergeyevich PELEVIN

1989IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region

05/12/2016 to

26/01/2020

3 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 22 day(s)

2 m²

overcrowding, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of food, lack or insufficient quantity of food, no warm clothes, lack of fresh air

11,300

6960/18

31/01/2018

Ruslan Veliyevich VELIYEV

1992IK-5 Krasnoyarsk Region

18/11/2016

pending

More than 5 year(s) and

11 month(s) and 17 day(s)

90-120 inmate(s)

3 m²

4 toilet(s)

lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to shower, poor quality of food, overcrowding, no or restricted access to toilet (the toilets are closed from 6 to 10 a.m.)

12,500

8775/18

24/01/2018

Ivan Sergeyevich AKULOV

1973IK-5 Krasnoyarsk Region

28/01/2010

pending

More than 12 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 7 day(s)

105 inmate(s)

2 m²

4 toilet(s)

inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of toiletries, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to toilet, passive smoking

12,500

28183/18

16/05/2018

Petr Nikolayevich CHERNYSHEV

1986IK-5 Krasnoyarsk Region

16/01/2016

pending

More than 6 year(s) and

9 month(s) and 19 day(s)

85 inmate(s)

2 m²

3 toilet(s)

lack of privacy for toilet, poor quality of food

Art. 8 (1) - permanent video surveillance of detainees in pre-trial or post-conviction detention facilities - 16/01/2016- pending, including the period of his detention in SIZO on 28/04/2018-01/05/2018

IK-5 Krasnoyarsk Region

Opposite-sex operators

12,500

29944/18

11/06/2018

Vitaliy Aleksandrovich MOROZOV

1977IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region

28/04/2015

pending

More than 7 year(s) and

6 month(s) and 7 day(s)

2 m²

lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, overcrowding

12,500

30664/18

10/09/2018

Ruslan Stanislavovich LUKASHENKO

1983IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region

29/10/2017

pending

More than 5 year(s) and

6 day(s)

120 inmate(s)

2 m²

lack of or insufficient natural light, inadequate temperature, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell

12,500

33151/18

26/06/2018

Dmitriy Valentinovich PEREPECHIN

1981IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region

01/02/2017

pending

More than 5 year(s) and

9 month(s) and 3 day(s)

140 inmate(s)

2 m²

overcrowding, no or restricted access to warm water, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to toilet, mouldy or dirty cell, inadequate temperature

12,500

47102/18

14/01/2019

Yevgeniy Viktorovich PERMINOV

1979IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region

01/06/2018

pending

More than 4 year(s) and

5 month(s) and 3 day(s)

2.5 m²

overcrowding, no or restricted access to warm water

12,500

645/19

11/02/2019

Sergey Ivanovich SHISHLOV

1971IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region

20/01/2018

pending

More than 4 year(s) and

9 month(s) and 15 day(s)

2 m²

lack of privacy for toilet, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to toilet, overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell

12,500

2969/19

20/02/2019

Aleksandr Anatolyevich VASILYEV

1978IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region

11/03/2010

pending

More than 12 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 24 day(s)

130 inmate(s)

2 m²

inadequate temperature, overcrowding, lack of or insufficient electric light, poor quality of food, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities

12,500

4832/19

01/04/2019

Maksim Viktorovich ADUSHKIN

1988IK-2 Zabaykalskiy Region

01/06/2015

pending

More than 7 year(s) and

5 month(s) and 3 day(s)

2.5 m²

lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to shower, overcrowding, poor quality of food, poor quality of potable water

12,500

9402/20

31/01/2020

Umar Bagaudinovich KHADZIYEV

1984Shukhardin Valeriy Vladimirovich

Moscow

IK-14 Novosibirsk Region

01/01/2016

pending

More than 6 year(s) and

10 month(s) and 3 day(s)

2 m²

lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, overcrowding, inadequate temperature, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food

12,500

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