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European Court of Human Rights
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> European Court of Human Rights >> DEMBO AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE - 2778/18 (Judgment : Prohibition of torture : Fifth Section Committee) [2021] ECHR 195 (11 March 2021)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2021/195.html
Cite as: CE:ECHR:2021:0311JUD000277818, ECLI:CE:ECHR:2021:0311JUD000277818, [2021] ECHR 195
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FIFTH SECTION
CASE OF DEMBO AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE
(Application no. 2778/18 and 46 others - see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
11 March 2021
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Dembo and Others v. Ukraine,
The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Ivana Jelić, President,
Ganna Yudkivska,
Arnfinn Bårdsen, judges,
and Liv Tigerstedt, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 18 February 2021,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
1. The case originated in applications against Ukraine 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 Ukrainian Government (“the Government”) were given notice of the applications.
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 their life sentence with no prospect of release.
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 3 of the Convention
6. The applicants complained of their life sentence with no prospect of release. They relied, expressly or in substance, on Article 3 of the Convention, which reads as follows:
Article 3
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
7. The Court reiterates that the Convention does not prohibit the imposition of a life sentence on those convicted of especially serious crimes, such as murder. Yet to be compatible with Article 3 such a sentence must be reducible de jure and de facto, meaning that there must be both a prospect of release for the prisoner and a possibility of review. The basis of such review must extend to assessing whether there are legitimate penological grounds for the continuing incarceration of the prisoner. These grounds include punishment, deterrence, public protection and rehabilitation. The balance between them is not necessarily static and may shift in the course of a sentence, so that the primary justification for detention at the outset may not be so after a lengthy period of service of sentence. The importance of the ground of rehabilitation is underlined, since it is here that the emphasis of European penal policy now lies, as reflected in the practice of the Contracting States, in the relevant standards adopted by the Council of Europe, and in the relevant international materials (see Vinter and Others v. the United Kingdom [GC], nos. 66069/09 and 2 others, §§ 59-81, ECHR 2013 (extracts)).
8. In the leading case of Petukhov v. Ukraine (no. 2), no. 41216/13, 12 March 2019, 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. They are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.
III. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION
10. 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.”
11. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Petukhov (no. 2), cited above, § 201), the Court considers that the finding of a violation constitutes in itself sufficient just satisfaction.
FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,
1. Decides to join the applications;
2. Declares the applications admissible;
3. Holds that they disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention;
4. Holds that the finding of a violation constitutes in itself sufficient just satisfaction.
Done in English, and notified in writing on 11 March 2021, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
{signature_p_2}
Liv Tigerstedt Ivana Jelić
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention
(life sentence with no prospect of release)
|
Application no. Date of introduction |
Applicant’s name Year of birth |
Representative’s name and location |
Name of the trial court Date of the life sentence |
Judicial decision upholding the conviction | |
|
|
2778/18 04/01/2018 |
Andriy Adolfovych DEMBO 1963 |
|
Kyiv City Court, 27/12/1999 |
N/A |
|
|
8520/18 23/04/2018 |
Denis Yuryevich MELNIKOV 1981 |
|
Kharkiv Regional Court of Appeal, 16/08/2011 |
High Specialised Court for Civil and Criminal Matters, 17/04/2012 |
|
|
20076/18 12/04/2018 |
Yevgeniy Vladimirovich TALYANOV 1979 |
|
Military Court of Appeal of the Western Region, 24/04/2002 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 09/07/2002 |
|
|
20083/18 17/04/2018 |
Vadym Leonidovych NECHYPURENKO 1977 |
Zayets Sergiy Anatoliyovych Irpin |
Kirovograd Regional Court of Appeal, 26/01/2006 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 07/12/2006 |
|
|
22291/18 27/04/2018 |
Yevgen Oleksandrovych BAGNYUK 1975 |
Zayets Sergiy Anatoliyovych Irpin |
Chernigiv Regional Court of Appeal, 24/07/2006 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 20/02/2007 |
|
|
23034/18 07/05/2018 |
Oleksandr Oleksiyovych VASYLYUK 1967 |
|
Kirovograd Regional Court, 14/04/1998 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 09/07/1998 |
|
|
23511/18 02/08/2018 |
Yuriy Mykhaylovych KONOVALOV 1981 |
|
Dnipropetrovsk Regional Court of Appeal, 19/07/2005 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 18/10/2005 |
|
|
24170/18 11/05/2018 |
Ivan Petrovych DZYADCHENKO 1974 |
Zayets Sergiy Anatoliyovych Irpin |
Chernigiv Reginal Court of Appeal 24/07/2006 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 20/02/2007 |
|
|
24461/18 11/05/2018 |
Sergiy Kostyantynovych TITARENKO 1983 |
Zayets Sergiy Anatoliyovych Irpin |
Kharkiv Regional Court of Appeal, 31/03/2009 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine 08/02/2011 |
|
|
25350/18 27/04/2018 |
Volodymyr Volodymyrovych MINKO 1965 |
Zayets Sergiy Anatoliyovych Irpin |
Chernigiv Reginal Court, 19/03/1999 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 08/06/1999 |
|
|
28059/18 25/05/2018 |
Stepan Stepanovich LITVIN 1975 |
|
Supreme Court of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, 06/10/2000 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 11/01/2001 |
|
|
28163/18 05/06/2018 |
Stanislav Valeryevich SHTANKO 1972 |
|
Dnipropetrovsk Regional Court of Appeal, 31/08/2007 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 22/01/2008 |
|
|
28240/18 26/05/2018 |
Mykhaylo Vasylyovych GRECHUKH 1982 |
Zayets Sergiy Anatoliyovych Irpin |
Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Court of Appeal, 02/03/2005 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 14/06/2005 |
|
|
32752/18 04/07/2018 |
Oleksandr Petrovych KOVALENKO 1981 |
|
Vinnytsya Regional Court, 18/11/2002 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 20/02/2003 |
|
|
33648/18 07/07/2018 |
Vitaliy Viktorovich TKACHENKO 1979 |
|
Sumy Regional Court of Appeal, 25/11/2002 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 04/03/2003 |
|
|
38043/18 02/08/2018 |
Maksim Aleksandrovich IVANENKO 1978 |
|
Sumy Regional Court of Appeal, 16/05/2003 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 09/09/2003 |
|
|
39775/18 10/08/2018 |
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich BOROTBENKO 1977 |
|
Kyiv Court of Appeal, 06/06/2002 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 28/11/2002 |
|
|
40845/18 19/07/2018 |
Viktor Nikolayevich PONOMARYOV 1972 |
|
Sumy Regional Court of Appeal, 14/06/2007 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 16/10/2007 |
|
|
41730/18 03/07/2018 |
Ivan Ivanovych KARPENKO 1973 |
|
Cherkasy Regional Court of Appeal, 24/03/2004 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 12/10/2004 |
|
|
45303/18 12/09/2018 |
Aleksandr Vladimirovich DIGTYAR 1979 |
|
Sumy Regional Court of Appeal, 22/04/2002 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 30/07/2002 |
|
|
45778/18 14/02/2019 |
Viktor Petrovych SINOGACH 1966 |
|
Zarichnyy Local Court of Sumy, 08/12/2014 |
Sumy Regional Court of Appeal, 11/02/2015 Supreme Court of Ukraine, 04/07/2018 |
|
|
55254/18 14/02/2019 |
Ruslan Volodymyrovych ARTYUSHENKO 1983 |
|
Sumy Regional Court of Appeal, 15/12/2004 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 22/03/2005 |
|
|
56263/18 13/11/2018 |
Sergey Nikolayevich SHAKHOV 1979 |
|
Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal, 02/10/2002 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 03/02/2004 |
|
|
57033/18 20/11/2018 |
Valeriy Petrovych DATSYUK 1987 |
|
Kharkiv Local Court of Kharkiv Region, 30/06/2013 |
Kharkiv Regional Court of Appeal, 22/10/2013 |
|
|
59345/18 08/12/2018 |
Vyacheslav Ivanovych POLISHKO 1977 |
|
Poltava Regional Court of Appeal, 14/05/2004 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 30/09/2004 |
|
|
7751/19 19/01/2019 |
Mykhaylo Mykolayovych ZHDANOV 1988 |
Petruk Viktoriya Yuriyivna Kyiv |
Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal, 27/03/2008 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 12/05/2008 |
|
|
8148/19 05/01/2019 |
Mger Lenorovich PETROSYAN 1976 |
|
Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal, 03/11/2005 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 18/01/2007 |
|
|
10731/19 03/02/2019 |
Sergiy Anatoliyovych SAFRONOV 1978 |
|
Kirovograd Regional Court of Appeal, 09/04/2004 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 30/09/2004 |
|
|
15611/19 12/03/2019 |
Volodymyr Oleksiyovych KICHA 1975 |
|
Sumy Regional Court, 18/06/2008 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 03/02/2009 |
|
|
16699/19 13/03/2019 |
Sergey Valeryevich ROMANOV 1971 |
|
Supreme Court of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, 18/07/1997 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 02/10/1997 |
|
|
16955/19 04/06/2019 |
Vladimir Mikhaylovich KONONOV 1977 |
|
Odessa Regional Court, 18/11/1997 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 07/05/1998 |
|
|
17321/19 20/03/2019 |
Oleksandr Leontiyovych TYMOSHCHUK 1971 |
|
Kyiv City Court, 27/10/1999 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 15/06/2000 |
|
|
21407/19 09/04/2019 |
Gennadiy Volodymyrovych KAPELKO 1967 |
|
Kyiv City Court, 27/08/2000 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 08/02/2001 |
|
|
27033/19 16/07/2019 |
Andrey Viktorovich ROMASHKEVICH 1962 |
|
Obolonskyy Local Court of Kyiv, 02/03/2015 |
High Specialised Court for Civil and Criminal Matters, 13/04/2016 |
|
|
40236/19 16/07/2019 |
Mikhail Vitaliyevich BILOTSKIY 1983 |
|
Zhytomyr Regional Court of Appeal, 14/04/2009 |
N/A |
|
|
41481/19 10/03/2020 |
Ruslan Anatoliyovych IGLIN 1981 |
Revyakin Maksym Oleksandrovych Kharkiv |
Dnipropetrovsk Regional Court of Appeal, 06/01/2005 |
High Specialised Court for Civil and Criminal Matters, 04/06/2013 |
|
|
45123/19 17/08/2019 |
Oleksandr Oleksiyovych STUKAN 1958 |
Bondarenko Viktor Gennadiyovych Lutsk |
Volyn Regional Court of Appeal, 02/02/2004 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 22/06/2004 |
|
|
54098/19 23/09/2019 |
Anatoliy Fedorovych BONDARENKO 1966 |
|
Cherkasy Regional Court of Appeal, 27/11/2006 |
N/A |
|
|
2808/20 02/04/2020 |
Maksim Viktorovich STEPANENKO 1975 |
Preobrazhenskaya Oksana Vladimirovna Strasbourg |
Donetsk Regional Court, 25/09/1997 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 12/02/1998 |
|
|
11213/20 14/02/2020 |
Oleksandr Valeriyovych IVZHENKO 1977 |
|
Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal, 21/07/2006 |
N/A |
|
|
11572/20 18/02/2020 |
Pavlo Oleksandrovych CHEKAN 1979 |
|
Kharkiv Regional Court, 15/12/2000 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 26/06/2001 |
|
|
14392/20 10/03/2020 |
Oleksandr Oleksandrovych NIKOLAYENKO 1982 |
Ovdiyenko Ganna Volodymyrivna Kharkiv |
Chernigiv Regional Court, 01/06/2001 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 09/10/2001 |
|
|
14677/20 11/03/2020 |
Sergiy Sergiyovych KONDRASHYN 1982 |
Kychenok Andriy Sergiyovych Kyiv |
Appellate Court of Donetsk Region, 22/04/2002 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 17/04/2003 |
|
|
18095/20 30/03/2020 |
Vadym Anatoliyovych ZYKOV 1969 |
Koval Sergiy Volodymyrovych Kovel |
Kyivskyy Local Court of 11/08/1997 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 29/01/1998 |
|
|
18690/20 07/04/2020 |
Sergiy Volodymyrovych POMEYCHUK 1980 |
|
Odessa Regional Court of Appeal, 16/10/2008 |
N/A |
|
|
19959/20 25/04/2020 |
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych DRUGOV 1964 |
Kychenok Andriy Sergiyovych Kyiv |
Sumy Regional Court of Appeal 15/12/2004 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine 22/03/2005 |
|
|
21015/20 22/05/2020 |
Igor Stepanovich PETRIKIV 1968 |
Preobrazhenskaya Oksana Vladimirovna Strasbourg |
Kherson Regional Court, 27/04/1998 |
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 07/07/1998 |