Published on 27 November 2023

FIRST SECTION

Application no. 17639/23 Dmytro YASHYN against Poland lodged on 28 April 2023 communicated on 6 November 2023

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The case concerns the pending extradition of the applicant (a Ukrainian national) from Poland to the United States of America, where he is to stand trial for multiple counts of fraud, conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. On 27 February 2023 the Warsaw Praga Regional Court (case no. V Kop 97/22) held that the applicant’s extradition to the United States of America would be legally permissible. On 5 April 2023 the Warsaw Court of Appeal upheld that decision (case no. II AKz 267/23). The court noted, in particular, that the applicant’s argument that he would face the risk of being sentenced to a de facto irreducible life imprisonment was a mere speculation, and that there were no circumstances that would cast doubt on his state of mental health. On 13 June 2023 the Minister of Justice authorised the applicant’s extradition to the authorities of the United States. The Minister’s decision contained a brief passage stating that the applicant’s “adaptive disorder” could be treated in the United States

Meanwhile, on 3 April 2023, the applicant was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Pruszków, without his consent. According to documents submitted in support of the application, he attempted to take his life on several occasions and was diagnosed with psychosis. On 23 May 2023 the Warsaw Praga Regional Court ordered that the applicant, after his discharge from hospital, be placed at the Psychiatric Ward of the Radom Detention Centre. On 25 May 2023 he was discharged from psychiatric hospital and remanded at the Radom Detention Centre. Due to lack of available spaces, the applicant was not placed at the Psychiatric Ward until 3 July 2023. Since then, he has remained there.

On 28 July 2023, following the applicant’s request under Rule 39 of the Rules of the Court, the Court indicated to the respondent Government that he should not be removed from Poland until further notice.

Under Article 3 of the Convention, the applicant complains that his extradition would represent a serious risk to his life and mental health due to his psychiatric health issues, namely psychosis, accompanied by the risk of suicide. He also considers that, if detained in the United States of America, he would not receive adequate psychiatric medical assistance.

The applicant further alleges that, if convicted of all thirteen counts of offences with which he had been charged, he would be sentenced to a long ‑ term imprisonment. He alleges that his sentence might be around two hundred years’ imprisonment, which in fact amounts to life-imprisonment without the possibility of parole, in breach of Article 3 of the Convention.

The applicant also complains that his ongoing detention is incompatible with his mental health, given the absence of specific treatment for his psychiatric issues; the lack of domestic remedies and the non-enforcement of domestic courts’ decisions ordering his placement at a psychiatric ward of a remand centre.

QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES

1. In view of the applicant’s medical condition, if he were to be extradited to the United States of America, would there be a real risk of a breach of Article 3 of the Convention on account of the material conditions of detention, in particular regarding the lack of access to appropriate medical assistance in prison facilities in the United States (see J.K. and Others v. Sweden [GC], no. 59166/12, § 79, 23 August 2016, and, mutatis mutandis , Aswat v. the United Kingdom , no. 17299/12, § 50, 16 April 2013)?

2. Did the national authorities make due assessment of the applicant’s claim about the risks involved in his extradition (see Savran v. Denmark [GC], no. 57467/15, §§ 130 and 133-136, 7 December 2021, and Paposhvili v. Belgium [GC], no. 41738/10, §§ 184-192, 13 December 2016)? Reference is made to (i) the minutes of the hearing before the Warsaw Court of Appeal held on 5 April 2023, in which it was noted the applicant’s admission to a psychiatric hospital, and to (ii) the Court of Appeal’s subsequent decision of the same day, which stated that there had been no circumstances that would cast doubt on his state of mental health.

3. (a) Would the applicant’s extradition to the United States of America be compatible with Article 3 of the Convention? In particular, are there substantial grounds for believing that, if extradited, and in the event of his conviction, there would be a real risk that a sentence of life imprisonment without parole would be imposed on the applicant?

(b) If so, would there exist, as from the moment of sentencing, a review mechanism in place allowing the domestic authorities to consider (i) whether any changes in the life prisoner are so significant, and such progress towards rehabilitation has been made in the course of the sentence, as to mean that continued detention can no longer be justified on legitimate penological grounds, or (ii) any other ground for release based on the life prisoner’s behaviour or other relevant personal circumstances (see Sanchez-Sanchez v. the United Kingdom ([GC], no. 22854/20, §§ 96 ‑ 97, 3 November 2022)?

4. Taking into account the applicant’s state of mental health and his multiple suicide attempts, has there been a breach of Article 3 of the Convention? In particular:

(i) Having regard to the applicant’s psychiatric disorder and the decision issued by the Warsaw Praga Regional Court of 23 May 2023 ordering his placement at the Psychiatric Ward of the Radom Detention Centre, was the applicant’s subsequent detention in the general population unit compatible with his state of health (see Epure v. Romania , no. 73731/17, § 74, 11 May 2021 and Bamouhammad v. Belgium , no. 47687/13, § 120 ‑ 123, 17 November 2015)?

(ii) Did the domestic authorities adequately examine the applicant’s state of mental health and ensure a comprehensive therapeutic strategy (see Rooman v. Belgium [GC], no. 18052/11, §§ 146-47, 31 January 2019, and Strazimiri v. Albania , no. 34602/16, §§ 103-12, 21 January 2020)?