Communicated on 20 May 2014

THIRD SECTION

Application no. 17175/14 C.O . against Romania lodged on 20 February 2014

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant, Mr C.O. , is a Romanian national, who was born in 1968 and is currently serving a prison sentence for homicide in Foc ÅŸ ani Prison .

Since his arrest in 1997 until today, he has been transferred between several prisons and prison hospitals. He describes the overall conditions of detention as follows.

He has been placed in overcrowded cells where the number of inmates sometimes exceed that of available beds. The cells have been dirty, badly ventilated, insalubrious, infested with lice, bedbugs, cockroaches, mice and rats. The sanitary facilities had one to two toilets, tap water and sometimes showers, but access to hot water has been limited and insufficient for all inmates to take showers.

Food has been of poor quality and the water infested and coming from rusty pipes. The inmates had to wash their plate and cutlery after eating but most of the time only cold water was available.

He explained that in the current prison he shares the cell with inmates who are working in the animal farm attached to the prison and because they cannot wash properly, the smell is unbearable. The inmates are taken out for walks in small and dirty courtyards where rats run freely and the smell from the animal farm is unbearable.

He has contracted bronchial asthma and other diseases of which he still suffers.

He further describes that during transport between prisons he has been kept chained (even during transfer which at least on one occasion lasted overnight) and without heating.

COMPLAINT

The applicant complains under Article 3 of the Convention about the conditions of his detention .

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

1. Were the conditions of the applicant’s detention in breach of the requirements of Article 3 of the Convention?

The Government are invited to provide information on the material conditions of the applicant’s detention and the manner in which he was transported during his repeated transfers.