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European Court of Human Rights
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> European Court of Human Rights >> VEGERA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA - 37150/18 (Article 3 - Prohibition of torture : First Section Committee) [2023] ECHR 846 (26 October 2023)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2023/846.html
Cite as: [2023] ECHR 846
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FIRST SECTION
CASE OF VEGERA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA
(Applications nos. 37150/18 and 30 others -
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
26 October 2023
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Vegera and Others v. Russia,
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Péter Paczolay, President,
Gilberto Felici,
Raffaele Sabato, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 5 October 2023,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
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 dates indicated in the appended table.
2. The Russian Government were given notice of the applications.
THE FACTS
3. A list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.
4. The applicants complained of the inadequate conditions of detention during their transport. Some applicants also raised additional complaints under the Convention.
THE LAW
- 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.
- JURISDICTION
6. The Court observes that the facts giving rise to the alleged violations of the Convention occurred prior to 16 September 2022, the date on which the Russian Federation ceased to be a party to the Convention. The Court therefore decides that it has jurisdiction to examine the present applications (see Fedotova and Others v. Russia [GC], nos. 40792/10 and 2 others, §§ 68-73, 17 January 2023).
- ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 3 OF THE CONVENTION
7. The applicants complained principally of the inadequate conditions of detention during their transport. They relied on Article 3 of the Convention, which reads as follows:
"No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."
8. The Court notes that the applicants were detained in poor conditions during transport. The details of the applicants' detention are indicated in the appended table. The Court refers to the principles established in its case-law regarding cramped and defective conditions during the transit of prisoners (see Tomov and Others v. Russia, nos. 18255/10 and 5 others, §§ 124-27, 9 April 2019). It reiterates in particular that a strong presumption of a violation arises when detainees are transported in conveyances offering less than 0.5 square metres of space per person, regardless of whether such cramped conditions result from an excessive number of detainees being transported together or from the restrictive design of compartments (ibid., § 125). As regards longer journeys, factors such as a failure to arrange an individual sleeping place for each detainee or to secure an adequate supply of drinking water and food or access to the toilet seriously aggravate the situation of prisoners during transfers and are indicative of a violation of Article 3 (ibid., § 127).
9. In the leading case of Tomov and Others (cited above), the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.
10. 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 applicants' conditions of detention during their transport were inadequate.
11. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.
- OTHER ALLEGED VIOLATIONS UNDER WELL-ESTABLISHED CASE-LAW
12. The applicants whose names are listed in the appended table also raised other complaints relating to the issues of the Court's well-established case-law. These complaints are not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 (a) of the Convention, nor are they inadmissible on any other ground. Accordingly, they must be declared admissible. Having examined all the material before it, the Court concludes that they also disclose a violation of the Convention (see appended table for further details) in view of its findings in Svinarenko and Slyadnev v. Russia [GC], nos. 32541/08 and 43441/08, ECHR 2014 (extracts), concerning placement of applicants in a metal cage in courtrooms; and Tomov and Others (cited above, §§ 143-56), related to the lack of an effective domestic remedy to complain about poor conditions of detention during transport.
13. In view of the above findings, the Court considers that there is no need to deal separately with the complaint lodged by some applicants under Article 13 of the Convention in respect of the alleged lack of remedies to complain about their placement in a metal cage in the courtrooms (compare Valyuzhenich v. Russia, no. 10597/13, § 27, 26 March 2019).
- APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION
14. 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."
15. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case-law (see, in particular, Pukhachev and Zaretskiy v. Russia, nos. 17494/16 and 29203/16, 16 November 2017), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.
FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,
- Decides to join the applications;
- Holds that it has jurisdiction to deal with these applications as they relate to facts that took place before 16 September 2022;
- Declares the applications admissible;
- Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention during transport;
- Holds that there have been other violations of the Convention under the Court's well-established case-law (see the appended table);
- Holds that it is not necessary to examine separately the complaints raised under Article 13 of the Convention in respect of the lack of domestic remedies to complain about placement in a metal cage in a courtroom;
- 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 during the default period plus three percentage points.
Done in English, and notified in writing on 26 October 2023, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Viktoriya Maradudina Péter Paczolay
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention
(inadequate conditions of detention during transport)
Application no. Date of introduction | Applicant's name Year of birth | Representative's name and location | Means of transport Start and end date | Sq. m per inmate | Specific grievances | Other complaints under well-established case-law | Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros)[1] | |
16/07/2018 | Denis Alekseyevich VEGERA 1982 |
| train, van 09/02/2018 to 10/02/2018
train, van 13/03/2018 to 13/03/2018 | 0.2-0.3 m²
0.2-0.3 m²
| overcrowding, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to potable water, lack or insufficient quantity of food, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack or inadequate furniture, passive smoking
overcrowding, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of fresh air, lack of privacy for toilet, lack or inadequate furniture, lack or insufficient quantity of food, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to toilet, passive smoking, lack of or insufficient natural light | Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
13/08/2018 | Aleksandr Sergeyevich POVAROV 1983 | Roman Nikolayevich Petrov Cheboksary | train, van, transit cell 14/01/2019 to 06/02/2019 | 0.2 m²
| overcrowding, inadequate temperature, lack of or insufficient electric light, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to toilet | Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
23/07/2018 | Ilya Tadeyevich DEMKO 1987 |
| transit cell, van, (52 trips) 05/05/2016 to 13/07/2018
train 11/09/2018 to 13/09/2018 |
| overcrowding, passive smoking
insufficient number of sleeping places, overcrowding, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of or insufficient electric light, passive smoking
| Art. 3 - use of metal cages and/or other security arrangements in courtrooms - placement of the applicant in a metal cage in the courtrooms of the Syktyvkar Town Court of the Komi Republic, between 26/04/2017 and 06/04/2018;
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 8,500 | |
18/08/2018 | Valeriy Borisovich GUSEV 1969 |
| van 01/08/2018 to 07/08/2018 | 0.3 m²
| overcrowding
| Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
17/08/2018 | Vladimir Vladimirovich NEFEDOV 1983 |
| train, van 01/08/2018 to 07/08/2018 | 0.3 m²
| inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to toilet
| Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
02/06/2018 | Aleksey Sergeyevich VORONOV 1982 |
| van, train, transit cell 15/04/2018 to 24/04/2018 | 0,4 m²
| overcrowding, insufficient number of sleeping places, no or restricted access to toilet
|
| 1,000 | |
17/08/2018 | Roman Leonidovich ANDREYEV 1980 |
| van, train 01/08/2018 to 07/08/2018 | 0.3 m²
| inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to toilet
| Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
17/08/2018 | Dmitriy Aleksandrovich AFINOGEYEV 1972 |
| van, train 01/08/2018 to 07/08/2018 | 0.3 m²
| inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to toilet
| Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
27/08/2018 | Anton Nikolayevich PYATKOV 1989 |
| train 10/01/2019 to 12/02/2019 | 2 m²
| inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, overcrowding, no or restricted access to toilet
| Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
15/10/2018 | Igor Yuryevich LUCHKO 1984 | Aleksandr Vladimirovich Vinogradov Kostroma | van 17/04/2018 to 17/04/2018
van 20/04/2018 to 20/04/2018
van 25/04/2018 to 25/04/2018 | 0.4 m²
0.2 m²
0.6 m²
| overcrowding
overcrowding
overcrowding
|
| 1,000 | |
11/10/2018 | Sergey Aleksandrovich VEREMEYUK 1987 | Aleksey Mikhaylovich Urlashov St Petersburg | train, van, transit cell 04/04/2018 to 13/04/2018 | 0.25 m²
| overcrowding, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, no or restricted access to toilet | Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
01/11/2018 | Natig Nushiravan ogly GULIYEV 1979 | Valeriy Vladimirovich Shukhardin Moscow | transit cell, train 26/04/2018 to 05/05/2018 | 0.25-0.33 m²
| constant electric light, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack or insufficient quantity of food, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air
| Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
09/06/2018 | Andrey Mikhaylovich YUDOV 1982 |
| van 30/10/2018 to 30/10/2018 | 0.32 m²
| lack of fresh air, overcrowding
|
| 1,000 | |
01/11/2018 | Andrey Alekseyevich KOBRIN 1974 | Aleksandr Vladimirovich Vinogradov Kostroma | train, van 10/05/2018 to 12/05/2018 | 0.6 m²
| overcrowding, no or restricted access to toilet
| Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
06/11/2018 | Nikolay Petrovich OGORODNIKOV 1966 | Aleksandr Vladimirovich Vinogradov Kostroma | train, transit cell 25/10/2018 to 27/10/2018 |
| overcrowding
| Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
01/11/2018 | Denis Sergeyevich CHIRKOV 1985 |
| train 11/08/2018 to 11/08/2018 |
| overcrowding, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient electric light, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, inadequate temperature |
| 1,000 | |
15/03/2019 | Vitaliy Viktorovich BANADYKOV 1973 |
| van, train 29/10/2012 to 16/11/2018 |
| inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, overcrowding, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of security belts |
| 1,000 | |
19/11/2018 | Dmitriy Nikolayevich CHEKMAREV 1989 | Dmitriy Andreyevich Alekseyenko Nizhniy Novgorod | van 29/03/2017 to 21/09/2018 |
| overcrowding, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of fresh air
|
| 1,000 | |
15/11/2018 | Dmitriy Valeryevich BORISOV 1985 | Nadezhda Valeryevna Radnayeva Sofia | train 22/05/2018 to 23/05/2018 | 0.3 m²
| insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to toilet
| Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
19/11/2018 | Mikhail Aleksandrovich KORZHUYEV 1982 |
| train 27/07/2018 to 30/07/2018 |
| insufficient number of sleeping places, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to potable water, overcrowding
|
| 1,000 | |
10/12/2018 | Radmir Shayarkhanovich DZHENALIYEV 1989 |
| train, transit cell, van 22/08/2018 to 12/11/2018 |
| overcrowding, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to running water, no or restricted access to toilet
| Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
10/12/2018 | Khasan Bekmukhametovich KHADZHIMUKHTAROV 1957 |
| train 23/08/2018 to 21/09/2018
van, train 13/01/2019 to 15/01/2019 |
| overcrowding, passive smoking, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of fresh air, insufficient number of sleeping places
overcrowding, lack of fresh air, lack of ventilation, no or restricted access to toilet |
| 1,000 | |
24/12/2018 | Yevgeniy Aleksandrovich KOSHELEVSKIY 1980 |
| train (Saratov - Nizhniy Novgorod), transit cell (SIZO-1 Nizhniy Novgorod) 09/08/2018 to 20/08/2018 |
| insufficient number of sleeping places, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of fresh air
|
| 1,000 | |
30/11/2018 | Denis Mikhaylovich POLIKANOV 1987 |
| train, transit cell 13/08/2018 to 16/08/2018 |
| overcrowding, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to toilet, poor quality of potable water, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities |
| 1,000 | |
31/12/2018 | Timur Muslimovich TIKHONOV 1996 | Roza Saidovna Magomedova Moscow | train 16/07/2018 to 07/11/2018 |
| overcrowding, insufficient number of sleeping places, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to toilet, passive smoking
| Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
26/12/2018 | Roman Yuryevich BARZILO 1978 |
| train, van, transit cell 12/09/2018 to 15/11/2018 | 0.4 m²
| overcrowding, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, lack of privacy for toilet
| Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
10/12/2018 | Igor Nikolayevich RONZHIN 1976 |
| train, van 05/09/2018 to 07/09/2018 |
| overcrowding, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to toilet
| Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
25/12/2018 | Aleksandr Valeryevich KHODAKOV 1989 |
| train 12/05/2018 to 14/08/2018 |
| lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient electric light, passive smoking, insufficient number of sleeping places, no or restricted access to toilet
| Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
19/12/2018 | Andrey Mikhaylovich ARNATSKIY 1986 |
| train, transit cell, van 20/06/2019 to 15/07/2019 |
| inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, overcrowding, passive smoking, poor quality of food | Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
03/12/2018 | Pavel Viktorovich DASHIN 1981 | Natalya Anatolyevna Anikina Moscow | transit cell, van 25/05/2018 to 28/11/2018 | 0.5 m²
| lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to toilet, overcrowding
| Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
12/01/2019 | Yuriy Anatolyevich GORELOV 1977 | Denis Vasilyevich Ganeshin Orenburg | train, transit cell 26/10/2018 to 12/11/2018 | 0.3 m²
| inadequate temperature, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of fresh air, overcrowding, no or restricted access to toilet
|
| 1,000 |
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.