Communicated on 30 August 2017

THIRD SECTION

Application no. 8647/12 Y.G. against Russia lodged on 31 January 2012

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant, Mr Y.G., is a Russian national, who was born in 1971 and lives in Moscow. The President granted the applicant ’ s request for his identity not to be disclosed to the public (Rule 47 § 4). He is represented before the Court by Mr I.I. Sharapov , a lawyer practising in Moscow.

The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows.

A. Underlying events

The applicant is HIV positive and suffers from Hepatitis.

At the end of February 2011 an acquaintance of the applicant informed him that a police database available in the Savelovskiy Market in Moscow contained information from the Moscow Criminal Record Information Centre ( Зональный информационный центр Главного управления внутренних дел г . Москвы ) that the applicant was HIV positive.

In order to verify this information the applicant went to the Savelovskiy Market and purchased a copy of the database of the Moscow Criminal Record Information Centre for 2007. The database contained the following information about him: (1) name, patronymic and surname; (2) date of birth; (3) place of residence; (4) previous conviction of hooliganism, theft and unlawful storage of drugs; and (5) his being HIV positive and suffering from Hepatitis. In the section “Notes” it was stated that the applicant was “a hooligan, thief and drug addict”.

On 4 March 2011 the applicant sought legal assistance at the Interregional Association of Human Rights Organisations “Agora”.

The applicant ’ s representative, having offered his assistance, also went to the Savelovskiy Market to verify the information received from the applicant. Various databases of different State agencies containing personal data were available, including the database of the Moscow Criminal Record Information Centre similar to the one that the applicant had bought. The applicant ’ s representative bought another copy for 2,000 roubles.

B. Characteristics of the database

The database of the Moscow Criminal Record Information Centre is a table divided into sections according to the type of the personal data it contains, such as name, place of residence, date of birth, gender, ethnicity, etc. It also contains specific types of information relevant for law ‑ enforcement activity, such as nickname, registration with the law ‑ enforcement agencies, membership of an organised criminal group, preventive measures, etc.

The database contained data in respect of 213,355 Moscow residents and 203,604 residents of other towns and foreigners. It also contained information on 281 people being HIV positive, 30 people suffering from AIDS and 750 people suffering from Hepatitis.

In the “Properties” of the database it was stated that the copyright belonged to “Cronos-Inform”, an IT company which for at least fifteen years created databases including those for use by Russian law ‑ enforcement agencies.

C. Applications to law-enforcement agencies and courts

On 3 March 2011 the applicant applied in writing to the Moscow Criminal Record Information Centre asking (1) to clarify why its database contained information about his state of health; and (2) to remove this information. The applicant enclosed a print out of the relevant extract from the database.

On 14 March 2011 the Moscow Criminal Record Information Centre replied to the applicant that the information in question was not contained in its database, and that the print out he had enclosed had nothing to do with its database.

On 18 April 2011 the applicant asked the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation to conduct a check into the distribution by officials of the Moscow Department of the Interior of confidential information concerning his private life without his consent.

On 21 April 2011 the Investigative Committee informed the applicant that since the issue did not fall within its competence, his application was forwarded to the Office of the Prosecutor General.

On 12 May 2011 the Office of the Prosecutor General forwarded the applicant ’ s complaint to the Prosecutor of Moscow.

On 25 May 2011 the Prosecutor of Moscow forwarded the applicant ’ s complaint to the Prosecutor of the Tverskoy District of Moscow.

In May 2011 the applicant applied to the Basmanniy District Court of Moscow with a complaint about the Investigative Committee ’ s inactivity.

In a letter of 1 June 2011 the Prosecutor of the Tverskoy District of Moscow informed the applicant that there was no evidence that any of the officials of the Moscow Department of the Interior had committed an offence. Insofar as his complaint concerned the fact that the database of the Moscow Criminal Record Information Centre was available in the Savelovskiy Market, the applicant was informed that the market was not within territorial jurisdiction of the Prosecutor of the Tverskoy District of Moscow.

On 17 June 2011 the Basmanniy District Court of Moscow dismissed the applicant ’ s complaint concerning the Investigative Committee ’ s inactivity. The applicant appealed.

On 8 August 2011 the Moscow City Court dismissed the appeal.

On 23 January 2012 the applicant asked the Investigative Committee to clarify on what legal basis it refused to conduct a check in connection with his initial complaint but forwarded it to the Prosecutor ’ s Office instead.

On 29 February 2012 the Investigative Committee replied to the applicant that his initial complaint did not contain sufficient information that would disclose elements of a crime. Accordingly, it was not possible to conduct a check into his allegations. Since the competence of the Investigative Committee did not include supervision over the lawfulness of decisions taken by officials of the agencies of the interior, his complaint was forwarded to the Prosecutor ’ s Office.

D. Other developments

After applications to the law-enforcement agencies the applicant ’ s representative received a phone call on his mobile phone from the Security Service of the Moscow Department of the Interior. He was invited to make a statement concerning the sale of the database in the Moscow markets.

From this conversation the applicant ’ s representative became aware that a check was being conducted under the orders of the Head of the Moscow Department of the Interior since information about the database of the Moscow Criminal Record Information Centre being available appeared in the media. However, there is no information about the outcome of the check.

At the same time, according to the media, between June and November 2011 the law-enforcement agencies carried out raids in several markets in Moscow and confiscated over 2,500 data carriers containing personal data.

However, according to the applicant, in July 2013 he purchased in the Savelovskiy Market a database for 2010 which was similar to the one he had purchased previously. It still contained the same information on his state of health as well as information about 508 people as being HIV positive.

COMPLAINTS

1. The applicant complains under Article 8 of the Convention about the fact that law-enforcement agencies unlawfully and without his knowledge collected and stored information about his state of health, entered it into the database and subsequently failed to ensure its confidentiality.

2. The applicant also complains under Article 13 of the Convention that he had no effective remedy in respect of his complaint under Article 8.

Q UESTIONS TO THE PARTIES

1. Has there been an interference with the applicant ’ s right to respect for his private life, within the meaning of Article 8 § 1 of the Convention?

If so, was that interference in accordance with the law and necessary in terms of Article 8 § 2?

Alternatively, has the State complied with its positive obligation under Article 8 to secure the applicant ’ s right to respect for his private life?

2. Did the applicant have at his disposal an effective domestic remedy for his complaint under Article 8, as required by Article 13 of the Convention?