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European Court of Human Rights
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> European Court of Human Rights >> ZAVGORODNIY AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA - 28355/18 (Article 3 - Prohibition of torture : Fourth Section Committee) [2024] ECHR 150 (15 February 2024)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2024/150.html
Cite as: [2024] ECHR 150
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FOURTH SECTION
CASE OF ZAVGORODNIY AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA
(Applications nos. 28355/18 and 22 others -
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
15 February 2024
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Zavgorodniy and Others v. Russia,
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Branko Lubarda, President,
Armen Harutyunyan,
Ana Maria Guerra Martins, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 25 January 2024,
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 various dates indicated in the appended table
2. The Russian 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 the inadequate conditions of detention under strict imprisonment regime. Some applicants also raised other complaints under the provisions of 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 under strict imprisonment regime. They relied, expressly or in substance, on Article 3 of the Convention.
8. In the leading case of N.T. v. Russia, no. 14727/11, 2 June 2020, 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, and having taken into account the issue of compliance with the six-month time-limit under Article 35 § 1 of the Convention (see Saakashvili v. Georgia (dec.), nos. 6232/20 and 22394/20, §§ 46-59, 1 March 2022, in which the Court addressed the COVID-related extension of the period in question), 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 strict imprisonment regime applied to the applicants as life prisoners has been incompatible with the requirements of Article 3 of the Convention on account of the severe and excessive statutory measures inherent in that regime, aggravated by routine handcuffing.
10. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.
- OTHER ALLEGED VIOLATIONS UNDER WELL-ESTABLISHED CASE-LAW
11. Some applicants submitted other complaints which also raised issues under the Convention, given the relevant well-established case-law of the Court (see appended table). 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 violations of the Convention in the light of its findings in Svinarenko and Slyadnev v. Russia [GC] (nos. 32541/08 and 43441/08, ECHR 2014 (extracts)), Idalov v. Russia [GC] (no. 5826/03, 22 May 2012), Gorlov and Others v. Russia (nos. 27057/06 and 2 others, 2 July 2019).
12. In the light of the findings above, the Court considers that there is no need to deal separately with the remaining complaints raised by the applicants in relation to the well-established case-law of the Court (compare Valyuzhenich v. Russia, no. 10597/13, § 27, 26 March 2019).
- APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION
13. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case-law (see, in particular, N.T., cited above), 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 under strict imprisonment regime;
- Holds that there has been a violation of the Convention as regards the other complaints raised under the well-established case-law of the Court (see appended table);
- Holds that it is not necessary to examine separately the remaining complaints raised by the applicants;
- 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 15 February 2024, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Viktoriya Maradudina Branko Lubarda
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention
(inadequate conditions of detention under strict imprisonment regime)
Application no. Date of introduction | Applicant's name Year of birth
| Representative's name and location | Facility | Start and end date of detention under strict regime | Other complaints under well-established case-law | Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros)[1] | |
04/06/2018 | Yuriy Viktorovich ZAVGORODNIY 1970 | Kharitonovskaya Yelena Leonidovna Vologda | IK-2 Vologda Region | 02/10/2002 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court | Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of permanent video surveillance in detention facilities;
Art. 8 (1) - permanent video surveillance of detainees in pre-trial or post-conviction detention facilities - IK-2 Vologda Region, 02/10/2002 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court, opposite-sex operators | 4,000 | |
21/05/2018 | Anton Vasilyevich BOLSHESHAPOV 1985 |
| IK-6 Khabarovsk Region | 26/09/2017 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court | Art. 3 - use of metal cages and/or other security arrangements in courtrooms - during several hearings by video link from IK-6 Khabarovsk region before Ivdelsk Town Court, Amur Town Court, Kuybyshevskiy District Court of Irkutsk, Kirovskiy District Court of Khabarovsk (02/10/2020 - 11/02/2021), civil proceedings on conditions of detention. The applicant is a life prisoner | 5,000 | |
25/08/2018 | Petr Aleksandrovich TARASOV 1988 | Yesina Tatyana Robertovna Sevastopol | IK-6 Khabarovsk Region | 01/04/2018 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court | Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport;
Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - train, 10/03/2018 - 25/03/2018, 0.6 sq. m. of personal space; insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of privacy for toilet, overcrowding, passive smoking, poor quality of potable water | 5,000 | |
20/08/2018 | Anatoliy Bogdanovich AYRIKH 1985 |
| IK-56 Sverdlovsk Region, IK-6 Khabarovsk Region | 05/03/2013 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court | Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport and in respect of permanent video surveillance in detention facilities;
Art. 8 (1) - permanent video surveillance of detainees in pre-trial or post-conviction detention facilities - IK-6 Khabarovsk Region, 11/03/2018 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court, opposite-sex operators;
Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - six transfers by train 11/02/2018 - 09/03/2018, 0.5-1 sq. m., five inmates per train compartment, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of or insufficient natural light, insufficient number of sleeping places, no or restricted access to running water, lack of ventilation | 5,000 | |
28/08/2018 | Vladimir Aleksandrovich SOFRONOV 1986 | Yesina Tatyana Robertovna Sevastopol | IK-6 Khabarovsk Region | 26/04/2018 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court | Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport;
Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - train, transit cells, 11/03/2018 - 26/04/2018; no or restricted access to warm water, overcrowding, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of privacy for toilet;
Art. 3 - use of metal cages and/or other security arrangements in courtrooms - placement in a metal cage in IK-6 Khabarovsk Region during court hearings on 30/08/2019, 09/10/2019 and 21/10/2019
| 5,000 | |
17/10/2018 | Anatoliy Yuryevich ZHAKUN 1965 |
| IK-18 Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region | 15/12/2008 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court
|
| 3,000 | |
21/06/2019 | Sergey Yuristovich ZARIPOV 1966 | Drobyshev Oleg Petrovich St Petersburg | IK-18 Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region | 10/10/2011 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court
first 10 years expired on 10/10/2021 |
| 3,000 | |
23/03/2020 | Vyacheslav Vladimirovich MATVEYEV 1990 |
| IK-2 Perm Region | 06/2015 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court |
| 3,000 | |
27/08/2019 | Denis Aleksandrovich KARAKOV 1982 |
| IK-56 Sverdlovsk Region,
| 14/05/2010 - 14/05/2020 | Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention under the strict regime;
Art. 3 - use of metal cages and/or other security arrangements in courtrooms - Ivdel Town Court of Sverdlovsk Region, at the hearings on 20/01/2021, 23/03/2021 | 5,000 | |
18/09/2019 | Sergey Borisovich KUTNYUK 1969 | Yesina Tatyana Robertovna Sevastopol | IK-6 Khabarovsk Region | 09/04/2018 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court
|
| 3,000 | |
21/11/2019 | Valeriy Petrovich PIDGURSKIY 1994 |
| IK-6 Khabarovsk Region | 10/09/2018- pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court |
| 3,000 | |
10/12/2019 | Artem Aleksandrovich PROKHORENKO 1985 | Mager Viktor Aleksandrovich Pushkin | IK-6 Khabarovsk Region | 26/01/2018 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court | Art. 3 - use of metal cages and/or other security arrangements in courtrooms - the applicant's placement in metal cage during the hearings of his multiple civil cases by the Third Cassation Court, St Petersburg City Court, Khabarovsk Regional Court, Ivdel Town Court, Kirovskiy District Court of Khabarovsk, Kolpinskiy District Court of St Petersburg, Frunzenskiy District Court of St Petersburg in the period from 02/02/2022 to 25/04/2022. All hearings were held by video link from IK-6 Khabarovsk Region | 5,000 | |
10/01/2020 | Vasiliy Vasilyevich STROKOV 1979 |
| IK-6 Khabarovsk Region | 17/01/2017 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court | Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport;
Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - van and train, 10/08/2019 - 25/08/2019, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, overcrowding (0,5 sq. m. of personal space per inmate), no or restricted access to toilet, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of potable water, poor quality of food | 5,000 | |
30/03/2020 | Zhamil Zhavitovich BIKAYEV 1973 |
| IK-56 Sverdlovsk Region,
IK-6 Khabarovsk Region | 24/07/2009 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court On 11/02/2019 the applicant applied for change of imprisonment regime, but remained under strict regime | Art. 8 (1) - permanent video surveillance of detainees in pre-trial or post-conviction detention facilities - IK-6 Khabarovsk Region, 26/01/2018 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court, detention in different cells with video surveillance, opposite-sex operators | 4,000 | |
30/03/2020 | Khushnud Tursunovich TURAKULOV 1988 |
| IK-18 Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region | 16/01/2011-16/01/2021 |
| 3,000 | |
19/05/2020 | Artem Aleksandrovich AKSENCHIK 1985 |
| IK-56 Sverdlovsk Region, IK-6 Khabarovsk Region | 04/11/2010 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court |
| 3,000 | |
26/03/2020 | Sergey Pavlovich KOLESNIKOV 1985 |
| IK-6 Khabarovsk Region | 09/12/2018 (transferred from IK-5 Volgograd Region) - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court
first 10 years expire on 31/10/2026
|
| 3,000 | |
15/07/2020 | Oleg Vladimirovich LEVCHUK 1972 | Laptev Aleksey Nikolayevich Moscow | IK-6 Orenburg Region | 14/03/2001 - 15/10/2019 | Art. 8 (1) - permanent video surveillance of detainees in pre-trial or post-conviction detention facilities - in IK-6 Orenburg Region, 14/03/2001 - 15/10/2019, opposite-sex operators, video surveillance in a lavatory | 4,000 | |
04/09/2020 | Yuriy Sergeyevich KRYUKOV 1994 |
| IK-6 Khabarovsk Region | 26/11/2017 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court | Art. 8 (1) - permanent video surveillance of detainees in pre-trial or post-conviction detention facilities - in IK-6 Khabarovsk Region, 26/11/2017 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court, opposite-sex operators
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of permanent video surveillance in detention facilities | 4,000 | |
09/09/2020 | Sergey Aleksandrovich FEDOROV 1980 | Fedorova Natalya Borisovna Fryanovo | IK-2 Perm Region | 30/07/2012 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court | Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention - The applicant has been detained in IK-2 Perm Region since 30/07/2012. He complained of overcrowding, stating that the living space of his cell is 1.35 sq. m. per person. He has also complained of handcuffing him despite the fact that he is a disabled individual with injured left hand. He has been detained at the underground level where the bars at the window did not allow to clean it to let the natural light into the cell;
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention | 5,000 | |
14/09/2020 | Sergey Vasilyevich RASSOLOV 1958 | Yesina Tatyana Robertovna Sevastopol | IK-56 Sverdlovsk Region, IK-6 Khabarovsk Region | 13/08/2010 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court | Art. 8 (1) - permanent video surveillance of detainees in pre-trial or post-conviction detention facilities - in IK-6 Khabarovsk Region, 09/02/2018 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court, opposite-sex operators;
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of permanent video surveillance in detention facilities
| 4,000 | |
10/10/2020 | Vasiliy Valentinovich SATINOV 1979 | Gaynutdinova Yuliya Sergeyevna Kazan | IK-6 Khabarovsk Region, IK-56 Sverdlovsk Region | 15/04/2016 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court
| Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of permanent video surveillance in detention facilities;
Art. 8 (1) - permanent video surveillance of detainees in pre-trial or post-conviction detention facilities - IK-6 Khabarovsk Region, 09/03/2018 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court, detention in different cells with video surveillance, opposite-sex operators, video surveillance in a lavatory and/or shower room;
Art. 3 - use of metal cages and/or other security arrangements in courtrooms - between 14/05/2020 and 10/08/2020 in the Ivdelskiy Town Court of the Sverdlovsk Region, Sverdlovsk Regional Court | 5,000 | |
04/05/2022 | Tyulegen Mingishevich KHABBASOV 1984 |
| IK-2 Perm Region | 06/03/2008 - pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court | Art. 3 - use of metal cages and/or other security arrangements in courtrooms - during the hearing at the Perm Regional Court via video link on 19/01/2022 (the proceedings concerned his transfer to a correctional facility with a more lenient regime) | 5,000 |
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.