Information Note on the Court’s case-law No. 148

January 2012

Arutyunyan v. Russia - 48977/09

Judgment 10.1.2012 [Section I]

Article 3

Inhuman treatment

Wheelchair-bound prisoner required to go up and down four flights of stairs in order to undergo life-supporting medical treatment: violation

Facts – The applicant was wheelchair-bound and had numerous health problems, including a failing renal transplant, very poor eyesight, diabetes and serious obesity. In April 2009 he was charged with manslaughter and detained in a regular detention facility. His cell was on the fourth floor of a building without an elevator; the medical and administrative units were located on the ground floor. Owing to the absence of an elevator, the applicant was required to walk up and down the stairs on a regular basis to receive haemodialysis and other necessary medical treatment. In May 2010 he was found guilty as charged and sentenced to eleven years’ imprisonment. Two months later he was sent to another detention facility to serve his sentence before ultimately being transferred to a regional hospital, where he began receiving the requisite medical assistance.

Law – Article 3: For a period of almost fifteen months the applicant, who was disabled and depended on a wheelchair for mobility, was forced at least four times a week to go up and down four flights of stairs on his way to and from lengthy, complicated and tiring medical procedures that were vital to his health. Indeed, he had had to endure such trips whenever he needed to visit the medical unit, see his lawyer, undergo clinical testing or attend a court hearing. The effort had undoubtedly caused him unnecessary pain and exposed him to an unreasonable risk of serious damage to his health. It was therefore not surprising that he had refused to go down the stairs to exercise in the recreation yard, and had thus remained confined within the walls of the detention facility twenty-four hours a day. In fact, due to his frustration and stress, the applicant had on several occasions even refused to leave his cell to receive life-supporting haemodialysis. Even though there had apparently been no appropriate detention facility to treat the applicant’s condition locally, no attempts had been made to find such a place elsewhere in Russia. Moreover, the majority of the medical examinations and procedures the applicant underwent took place in an ordinary room which had been transformed into a special medical unit. In these circumstances, the Court concluded that the domestic authorities had failed to treat the applicant in a safe and appropriate manner consistent with his disability, and had denied him effective access to the medical facilities, outdoor exercise and fresh air.

Conclusion : violation (unanimously).

Article 41: EUR 15,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage.

The Court further found that there had been a violation of Article 5 § 1 (c) of the Convention but no violation of Article 5 § 3.

© Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.

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