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European Court of Human Rights |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> European Court of Human Rights >> MITROKHIN v. RUSSIA - 35648/04 [2012] ECHR 112 (24 January 2012) URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2012/112.html Cite as: [2012] ECHR 112 |
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FIRST SECTION
(Application no. 35648/04)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
24 January 2012
This judgment will become final in the circumstances set out in Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Mitrokhin v. Russia,
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:
Peer Lorenzen, President,
Anatoly
Kovler,
Elisabeth Steiner,
Khanlar
Hajiyev,
Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska,
Julia
Laffranque,
Erik Møse, judges,
and Søren
Nielsen, Section
Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 4 January 2012,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
PROCEDURE
THE FACTS
I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE
A. The criminal proceedings against the applicant
B. Conditions of the applicant’s detention
1. Description provided by the Government
Period of detention |
Cell no. |
Cell surface area (sq. m) |
Number of inmates per cell |
From 28 October 2001 to 16 January 2003 |
No information provided |
||
From 7 to 13 March 2003 |
1 |
15.7 |
3-4 |
From 14 to 16 March 2003 |
101 |
22.8 |
3-5 |
From 17 to 21 March 2003 |
54 |
23.9 |
3-4 |
From 22 to 23 March 2003 |
101 |
See above |
3-4 |
From 24 to 28 March 2003 |
4 (disciplinary cell) |
3.4 |
1 |
From 29 March to 16 April 2003 |
101 |
See above |
|
From 17 to 21 April 2003 |
14 (disciplinary cell) |
4.1 |
1 |
From 22 April to 21 August 2003 |
101 |
See above |
|
From 22 August to 30 September 2003 |
7 (hospital room) |
24.5 |
3-4 |
From 1 to 12 October 2003 |
101 |
See above |
|
From 13 to 20 October 2003 |
20 |
18.4 |
3-4 |
From 21 October to 2 November 2003 |
41 (39 from 13 February 2004) |
13.3 |
2-3 |
From 3 to 4 November 2003 |
67 |
17.8 |
3-4 |
From 5 November 2003 to 4 January 2004 |
41 (39 from 13 February 2004) |
See above |
|
From 5 to 22 January 2004 |
46 |
19.6 |
4-5 |
From 23 January to 4 February 2004 |
60 |
21.9 |
5-6 |
From 5 to 17 February 2004 |
67 |
|
2-3 |
From 18 February to 10 March 2004 |
65 |
21.9 |
3-4 |
From 11 March to 8 April 2004 |
15 |
16.8 |
3-4 |
From 3 June to 27 June 2004 |
No information provided. |
||
From 18 August to 3 November 2004 |
19 |
17.1 |
3-4 |
From 4 to 8 November 2004 |
112 |
4.8 |
1 |
From 9 November to 3 December 2004 |
19 |
17.1 |
3-4 |
From 4 December 2004 to 7 August 2005 |
39 (formerly 41) |
13.3 |
3-4 |
From 29 June to 5 September 2006 |
62 |
22.0 |
4-5 |
From 6 September to 2 November 2006 |
1 (disciplinary cell) |
4.2 |
1 |
From 3 November to 24 December 2006 |
12 (disciplinary cell) |
4.2 |
1 |
From 25 December 2006 to 19 April 2007 |
114 |
4.4 |
1 |
From 20 April to 2 July 2007 |
13 (disciplinary cell) |
4.3 |
1 |
From 3 to 7 July 2007 |
1 (disciplinary cell) |
See above |
|
From 8 to 12 July 2007 |
13 (disciplinary cell) |
See above |
|
From 13 July to 23 September 2007 |
1 (disciplinary cell) |
See above |
|
From 24 September to 20 December 2007 |
13 (disciplinary cell) |
See above |
|
From 14 February to 13 May 2008 |
63 |
13.2 |
2-3 |
From 29 May to 29 June 2008 |
63 |
See above |
|
From 3 August to 8 September 2008 |
63 |
See above |
2. Description provided by the applicant
II. RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW
III. RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS
“45. It should be stressed at the outset that the CPT was pleased to note the progress being made on an issue of great concern for the Russian penitentiary system: overcrowding.
When the CPT first visited the Russian Federation in November 1998, overcrowding was identified as the most important and urgent challenge facing the prison system. At the beginning of the 2001 visit, the delegation was informed that the remand prison population had decreased by 30,000 since 1 January 2000. An example of that trend was SIZO No 1 in Vladivostok, which had registered a 30% decrease in the remand prison population over a period of three years.
...
The CPT welcomes the measures taken in recent years by the Russian authorities to address the problem of overcrowding, including instructions issued by the Prosecutor General’s Office, aimed at a more selective use of the preventive measure of remand in custody. Nevertheless, the information gathered by the Committee’s delegation shows that much remains to be done. In particular, overcrowding is still rampant and regime activities are underdeveloped. In this respect, the CPT reiterates the recommendations made in its previous reports (cf. paragraphs 25 and 30 of the report on the 1998 visit, CPT (99) 26; paragraphs 48 and 50 of the report on the 1999 visit, CPT (2000) 7; paragraph 52 of the report on the 2000 visit, CPT (2001) 2).”
THE LAW
I. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 3 OF THE CONVENTION
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
A. Admissibility
from 27 October 2001 to 27 June 2004;
from 18 August 2004 to 7 August 2005;
from 29 June 2006 to 20 December 2007;
from 13 February to 13 May 2008;
from 28 May to 29 June 2008;
from 3 August to 8 September 2008; and
from 13 to 28 April 2009.
(a) Detention from 27 October 2001 to 27 June 2004
(b) Detention from 18 August 2004 to 7 August 2005
(c) Periods of detention between 29 June 2006 and 28 April 2009
B. Merits
1. Submissions of the parties
2. The Court’s assessment
II. OTHER ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF THE CONVENTION
III. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION
“If the Court finds that there has been a violation of the Convention or the Protocols thereto, and if the internal law of the High Contracting Party concerned allows only partial reparation to be made, the Court shall, if necessary, afford just satisfaction to the injured party.”
A. Damage
B. Costs and expenses
C. Default interest
FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT UNANIMOUSLY
(a) that the respondent State is to pay the applicant, within three months of the date on which the judgment becomes final in accordance with Article 44 § 2 of the Convention, EUR 6,000 (six thousand euros) in respect of non-pecuniary damage, to be converted into Russian roubles at the rate applicable on the date of settlement, plus any tax that may be chargeable;
(b) that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amount at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points;
Done in English, and notified in writing on 24 January 2012, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Søren Nielsen Peer Lorenzen
Registrar President