Published on 25 April 2022

SECOND SECTION

Application no. 51309/21 Oliver POPOVSKI against North Macedonia lodged on 13 October 2021 communicated on 6 April 2022

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The applicant was sentenced to thirteen years’ imprisonment on charges of terrorism and started serving his sentence on 15 March 2019. The Court of Appeal reduced his sentence to eleven years. Between 24 October 2019 and 8 November 2021 several ophthalmologists from two different healthcare institutions (one State and one private) prescribed him urgent eye surgery. Between 28 January 2020 and 24 June 2021 he lodged several requests with the Directorate for Execution of Sanctions and a judge for execution of sanctions for his prison sentence to be interrupted, in order to undergo the surgery. However, his requests were dismissed on various grounds, inter alia, because the conditions for the interruption of the prison sentence had not been met, and because the surgery had not been scheduled on any particular date.

The applicant complains under Article 3 of the Convention that, while serving his prison sentence, he has been precluded from undergoing eye surgery for more than two years, which can irreversibly affect his sight.

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

1. Taking into account the applicant’s medical condition, have the responsible authorities discharged their obligation to ensure that his health and well‑being, while serving his prison sentence, were adequately secured by providing him with the necessary medical care, as required by Article 3 of the Convention?