European Court of Human Rights

 

 

 

THIRD SECTION

 

 

 

 

 

CASE OF SARBAKHTIN AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA

(Applications nos. 611/15 and 6 others - see appended list)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JUDGMENT

 

 

STRASBOURG

 

4 May 2017

 

 

 

 

 

This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.

 

 




In the case of Sarbakhtin and Others v. Russia,

The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:

          Luis López Guerra, President,
          Dmitry Dedov,
          Branko Lubarda, judges,
and Karen Reid, Section Registrar,

Having deliberated in private on 30 March 2017,

Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:

PROCEDURE

1.  The case originated in applications against Russia lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on the various dates indicated in the appended table.

2.  The applications were communicated to the Russian Government (“the Government”).

THE FACTS

3.  The list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.

4.  The applicants complained of the excessive length of their pre-trial detention.

THE LAW

I.  JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS

5.  Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.

II.  ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 5 § 3 OF THE CONVENTION

6.  The applicants complained that their pre-trial detention had been unreasonably long. They relied on Article 5 § 3 of the Convention, which read as follows:

Article 5 § 3

“3.  Everyone arrested or detained in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 (c) of this Article shall be ... entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial. Release may be conditioned by guarantees to appear for trial.”

7.  The Court observes that the general principles regarding the right to trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial, as guaranteed by Article 5 § 3 of the Convention, have been stated in a number of its previous judgments (see, among many other authorities, Kudła v. Poland [GC], no. 30210/96, § 110, ECHR 2000-XI, and McKay v. the United Kingdom [GC], no. 543/03, §§ 41-44, ECHR 2006-X, with further references).

8.  In the leading case of Dirdizov v. Russia, no. 41461/10, 27 November 2012, the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.

9.  Having examined all the material submitted to it, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion on the admissibility and merits of these complaints. Having regard to its case-law on the subject, the Court considers that in the instant case the length of the applicants’ pre-trial detention was excessive.

10.  These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention.

III.  APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION

11.  Article 41 of the Convention provides:

“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.”

12.  Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case-law (see, in particular, Pastukhov and Yelagin v. Russia, no. 55299/07, 19 December 2013), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.

13.  The Court considers it appropriate that the default interest rate should be based on the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank, to which should be added three percentage points.

FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,

1.  Decides to join the applications;

 

2.  Declares the applications admissible;

 

3.  Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention concerning the excessive length of pre-trial detention;

 

4.  Holds

(a)  that the respondent State is to pay the applicants, within three months, the amounts indicated in the appended table, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement;

(b)  that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amounts 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 4 May 2017, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.

     Karen Reid                                                                     Luis López Guerra
 Registrar                                                                               President

 

 




APPENDIX

List of applications raising complaints under Article 5 § 3 of the Convention

(excessive length of pre-trial detention)

No.	Application no. Date of introduction	Applicant name Date of birth	Representative name and location	Period of detention	Length of detention	Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros)[1]
1.	611/15 18/12/2014	Nikolay Anatolyevich Sarbakhtin 25/10/1983	Dmitriy Vladimirovich Agranovskiy Elektrostal	14/08/2014 to 16/01/2015	5 month(s) and 3 day(s)	1,500
2.	9585/15 02/02/2015	Valeriy Fedorovich Andronov 20/02/1960		21/03/2012 pending	More than 4 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 12 day(s)	5,100
3.	30621/15 05/06/2015	Sergey Aleksandrovich Blinkov 22/05/1990	Denis Sergeyevich Egle Krasnoyarsk	11/02/2013 to 18/05/2015	2 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 8 day(s)	2,400
4.	35376/15 25/06/2015	Timofey Sergeyevich Puzanov 17/05/1985	Irina Yuryevna Dyachenko Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy	25/12/2014 to 13/08/2015	7 month(s) and 20 day(s)	1,000
5.	39351/15 26/11/2015	Dmitriy Borisovich Melash 23/03/1981		28/03/2015 to 10/03/2016	11 month(s) and 12 day(s)	1,000
6.	45035/15 27/08/2015	Denis Mikhaylovich Meleshnin 16/12/1986	Yekaterina Viktorovna Yefremova Moscow	30/05/2011 pending	More than 5 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 25 day(s)	6,400
7.	5022/16 29/12/2015	Vitaliy Valentinovich Sychev 23/06/1970		24/10/2012 to 29/06/2016	3 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 6 day(s)	3,900

 




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[1].  Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.