14925/16;21849/16;33535/16;52089/16;53618/16;1335/17;1869/17

THIRD SECTION           CASE OF LOGINOV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA (Application no. 14925/16 and 6 others – see appended list)                 JUDGMENT     STRASBOURG   22 February 2018           This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.   In the case of Loginov and Others v. Russia, The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:  Luis López Guerra, President,  Dmitry Dedov,  Jolien Schukking, judges, and Liv Tigerstedt, Acting Deputy Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 1 February 2018, 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 mainly complained of the inadequate conditions of their 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 3 OF THE CONVENTION 6.  The applicants complained principally of the inadequate conditions of their detention. They relied 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 notes that the applicants were kept in detention in poor conditions. The details of the applicants’ detention are indicated in the appended table. The Court refers to the principles established in its case‑law regarding inadequate conditions of detention (see, for instance, Kudła v. Poland [GC], no. 30210/96, §§ 90‑94, ECHR 2000‑XI, and Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 139‑65, 10 January 2012). It reiterates in particular that extreme lack of space in a prison cell or overcrowding weighs heavily as an aspect to be taken into account for the purpose of establishing whether the impugned detention conditions were “degrading” from the point of view of Article 3 and may disclose a violation, both alone or taken together with other shortcomings (see, amongst many authorities, Karalevičius v. Lithuania, no. 53254/99, §§ 36–40, 7 April 2005). 8.  In the leading case of Sergey Babushkin v. Russia, no. 5993/08, 28 November 2013, 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 applicants’ conditions of detention were inadequate. 10.  These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention. III.  REMAINING COMPLAINTS 11.  In applications nos. 33535/16 and 53618/16, the applicants also raised other complaints under the Convention. 12.  The Court has examined the applications and considers that, in the light of all the material in its possession and in so far as the matter complained of is within its competence, these complaints either do not meet the admissibility criteria set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention or do not disclose any appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Convention or the Protocols thereto. It follows that this part of the applications must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention. IV.  APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION 13.  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.” 14.  Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Sergey Babushkin v. Russia, (just satisfaction), no. 5993/08, 16 October 2014, and Mozharov and Others v. Russia, no. 16401/12 and 9 others, 21 March 2017), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table. 15.  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 complaints about the conditions of the applicants’ detention admissible and the remainder of applications nos. 33535/16 and 53618/16 inadmissible;   3.  Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of 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 22 February 2018, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.  Liv Tigerstedt Luis López Guerra Acting Deputy Registrar President   APPENDIX List of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention (inadequate conditions of detention) No. Application no. Date of introduction Applicant name Date of birth   Facility Start and end date Duration Inmates per brigade Sq. m. per inmate Number of toilets per brigade Specific grievances Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros)[1]     14925/16 29/02/2016 Ilya Alekseyevich Loginov 19/03/1981 IK-11 Bor Nizhny Novgorod Region 18/07/2011 01/06/2017 5 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 15 day(s)   140 inmate(s) 1.4 m² 1 toilet(s) overcrowding, poor quality of food, no hot water, inadequate and insufficient provision of clothing, lack of flush toilets, lack of hand basins, insufficient time allotted for eating meals 9,000     21849/16 04/04/2016 Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Novozhilov 20/09/1989 IK-15 Norilsk 09/09/2013 to 16/11/2015 2 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 8 day(s)   160 inmate(s) 1 m² 6 toilet(s) overcrowding, lack of fresh air, lack of (adequate) heating, lack of (regular) physical exercise on fresh air, toilet not separated from the rest of the cell 5,000     33535/16 22/05/2016 Maksim Vladimirovich Savchenko 29/04/1984 IK-11 Bor Nizhny Novgorod region 04/04/2016 pending More than 1 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 16 day(s)   1.5 m² overcrowding, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease, lack of requisite medical assistance, poor quality of food 7,300     52089/16 18/08/2016 Aleksandr Sergeyevich Yaroshok 08/07/1989 IK-29 Primorye Region 16/05/2011 to 16/08/2016 5 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 1 day(s) 100 inmate(s) 1.88 m² overcrowding, no or restricted access to running water, poor quality of food 5,000     53618/16 30/08/2016 Aleksandr Vitalyevich Selyakov 10/12/1987 LIU-10 Novosibirsk Region 13/01/2016 to 05/03/2016 1 month(s) and 22 day(s)   IK-14 Novosibirsk Region 05/03/2016 to 15/04/2016 1 month(s) and 11 day(s)               32 inmate(s) 1.4 m² sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease         overcrowding 2,100     1335/17 12/12/2016 Vladimir Gennadyevich Krasnov 17/12/1987 IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region Unit 7 27/07/2015 01/04/2017 1 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 6 day(s)   1.6 m² bunk beds, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack or insufficient quantity of food 6,000     1869/17 20/12/2016 Aleksey Gennadyevich Surkov 08/04/1962 IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region 25/01/2013 19/12/2016 3 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 25 day(s)   64 inmate(s) 1.5 m² lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, no or restricted access to shower 5,000     [1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.