19289/17;32608/17;62419/17;68898/17;69015/17;3703/18;3707/18;41929/18;4885/19;5573/19;8876/19;24473/19;34074/19;34285/19;50289/19;52292/19;56069/19;60610/19;3214/20;5776/20;8468/20;11742/20;20981/20

THIRD SECTION CASE OF VASILYEV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA (Applications nos. 19289/17 and 22 others – see appended list)           JUDGMENT   STRASBOURG 29 April 2021         This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.   In the case of Vasilyev and Others v. Russia, The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:  Darian Pavli, President,  Dmitry Dedov,  Peeter Roosma, judges, and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 8 April 2021, 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 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 permanent video surveillance of detainees in pre-trial or post-conviction detention facilities and lack of an effective remedy in this respect. In some applications complaints stemming from the same set of facts were also communicated to the Government. 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. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLES 8 AND 13 of the Convention 6.  The applicants complained about detention under permanent video surveillance in pre-trial or post-conviction detention facilities and about the lack of an effective remedy in that respect. They relied on Articles 8 and 13 of the Convention, which read, in so far as relevant, as follows: Article 8 “1.  Everyone has the right to respect for his private ... life ... . 2.  There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.” Article 13 “Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in [the] Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity.” 7.  The Court has already established, in an earlier case against Russia, that the national legal framework governing the placement of detainees under permanent video surveillance in penal institutions falls short of the standards set out in Article 8 of the Convention (see Gorlov and Others v. Russia (nos. 27057/06 and 2 others, 2 July 2019). In Gorlov and Others, the Court summed up the general principles concerning the detainees’ right to respect for private life reiterating that placing a person under permanent video surveillance whilst in detention was to be regarded as a serious interference with the individual’s right to respect for his or her privacy (ibid., §§ 81-82). It has further concluded that the national law (1) cannot be regarded as being sufficiently clear, precise or detailed to have afforded appropriate protection against arbitrary interference by the authorities with the detainees’ right to respect of their private life (ibid., §§ 97-98) and (2) does not presuppose any balancing exercise or enable an individual to obtain a judicial review of the proportionality of his or her placement under permanent video surveillance to the vested interests in securing his or her privacy (ibid., § 108). 8.  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. It considers, regard being had to the case-law cited above, that in the instant case the placement of the applicants under permanent video surveillance when confined to their cells in pre-trial and post-conviction detention facilities was not “in accordance with law” and that they did not have at their disposal an effective remedy for their complaints in that respect. 9.  These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Articles 8 and 13 of the Convention. REMAINING COMPLAINTS 10.  In applications nos. 19289/17, 32608/17, 34285/19 and 56069/19, the applicants also raised other complaints under various Articles of the Convention. 11.  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 matters complained of are 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. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION 12.  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.” 13.  Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Gorlov and Others, cited above, with further references, § 120, which imposed on the respondent State a legal obligation, under Article 46 of the Convention, to implement, under the supervision of the Committee of Ministers, such measures as they consider appropriate to secure the right of the applicants and other persons in their position to respect of their private life), the Court considers that the finding of a violation constitutes a sufficient just satisfaction in the present case. FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY, Decides to join the applications; Declares the complaints concerning the permanent video surveillance in the applicants’ cells during their detention in pre-trial and post‑conviction facilities and the lack of an effective remedy in that respect admissible, and the remainder of applications nos. 19289/17, 32608/17, 34285/19 and 56069/19 inadmissible; Holds that these complaints disclose a breach of Articles 8 and 13 of the Convention; Holds that the finding of a violation constitutes in itself sufficient just satisfaction. Done in English, and notified in writing on 29 April 2021, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.    {signature_p_2}  Viktoriya Maradudina Darian Pavli Acting Deputy Registrar President     APPENDIX List of applications raising complaints under Articles 8 and 13 of the Convention (permanent video surveillance of detainees in pre-trial or post-conviction detention facilities and lack of an effective remedy in that respect) No. Application no. Date of introduction Applicant’s name Year of birth   Representative’s name and location Detention facility Period of detention Specific circumstances     19289/17 17/02/2017 Nikita Anatolyevich VASILYEV Egle Denis Sergeyevich Krasnoyarsk IK-17 Krasnoyarsk Region 21/10/2015 - 06/12/2018 detention in different cells with video surveillance, opposite-sex operators     32608/17 18/04/2017 Roman Anzorovich LENGAMO Egle Denis Sergeyevich Krasnoyarsk IK-17 Krasnoyarsk Region 07/12/2015 - 02/06/2017 opposite-sex operators     62419/17 09/08/2017 Yuriy Nikolayevich KRIVONOGOV Egle Denis Sergeyevich Krasnoyarsk IK-15 Krasnoyarsk Region 12/04/2011 - 12/04/2017 opposite-sex operators     68898/17 10/08/2017 Aleksey Viktorovich POPOV Egle Denis Sergeyevich Krasnoyarsk IK-15 Krasnoyarsk Region 22/06/2012 - 16/02/2017 opposite-sex operators     69015/17 29/08/2017 Aleksandr Andreyevich MUKHIN Egle Denis Sergeyevich Krasnoyarsk Transit Detention Facility IK-6 Krasnoyarsk; SIZO-6 and SIZO-1 Krasnoyarsk 23/08/2016 - 06/03/2017 detention in different cells with video surveillance     3703/18 29/12/2017 Shota Ivanovich TATRISHVILI Gavrilitsa Irina Aleksandrovna Krasnoyarsk IK-5 Krasnoyarsk Region March 2012 - 06/08/2017 video surveillance in a lavatory and/or shower room, detention in different cells with video surveillance     3707/18 29/12/2017 Viktor Aleksandrovich YANKE Gavrilitsa Irina Aleksandrovna Krasnoyarsk IK-17 Krasnoyarsk Region 01/05/2012 - 04/08/2017 opposite-sex operators, video surveillance in a lavatory and/or shower room     41929/18 20/08/2018 Petr Petrovich VOLKOV Miller Irina Vladimirovna Kansk IK-15 Krasnoyarsk Region 31/05/2016 - 21/03/2018 opposite-sex operators     4885/19 09/01/2019 Nikolay Anatolyevich KUZNETSOV     IK-5 Krasnoyarsk Region 11/10/2018 - pending detention in different cells with video surveillance, opposite-sex operators   5573/19 22/12/2018 Kurbonali Amindzhonovich SAIDOV Egle Denis Sergeyevich Krasnoyarsk IK-15 Krasnoyarsk Region 01/04/2016 - 28/06/2018 detention in different cells with video surveillance, opposite-sex operators   8876/19 24/04/2019 Aleksey Olegovich BALCHIY     IK-5 Krasnoyarsk Region 27/02/2018 - 16/12/2019 opposite-sex operators   24473/19 26/04/2019 Yevgeniy Andreyevich KOLESOV Preobrazhenskaya Oksana Vladimirovna Strasbourg IK-2 Vladimir Region 18/01/2017 - 26/10/2018 opposite-sex operators   34074/19 20/08/2018 Kallistrat Aleksandrovich YEMANAKOV     IZ-75/1 Chita, Zabaykalskiy Region 14/08/2016 - 21/02/2018 opposite-sex operators, detention in different cells with video surveillance   34285/19 15/06/2019 Yevgeniy Sergeyevich KOSOLAPOV Golub Olga Viktorovna Suzemka IVS Buynaksk 17/12/2018 - 29/12/2018 detention in different cells with video surveillance   50289/19 05/09/2019 Viktor Yegorovich MERZLYAKOV     IK-6 Orenburg Region 22/01/2001 - 15/03/2019 detention in different cells with video surveillance, opposite-sex operators, video surveillance in a lavatory and/or shower room   52292/19 20/09/2019 Sergey Sergeyevich KOZLOVSKIY     IK-5 Krasnoyarsk Region 05/11/18 - pending detention in different cells with video surveillance, opposite-sex operators   56069/19 13/10/2019 Dzhon Surenovich ZIRAKYAN     SIZO-1 Noginsk, Moscow Region 15/01/2018 - 24/05/2019 opposite-sex operators, detention in different cells with video surveillance   60610/19 09/11/2019 Yuliana Nikolayevna PARAMONOVA Andreyev Ashot Aleksandrovich Syktyvkar IZ-1, IK-31, Komi Republic 16/04/2019 - 16/08/2019 detention in different cells with video surveillance, opposite-sex operators   3214/20 18/12/2019 Georgiy Alekseyevich POZDNYSHEV     IK-31 Komi Republic 10/07/2017 - 18/10/2019 detention in different cells with video surveillance, opposite-sex operators   5776/20 13/12/2019 Aleksey Sergeyevich FEOKTISTOV     IZ-1 Komi Republic 01/05/2019 - 15/01/2020 opposite-sex operators, detention in different cells with video surveillance   8468/20 22/01/2020 Sergey Sergeyevich KOZLOV     LIU-37 Krasnoyarsk Region 11/12/2018 - 26/08/2019 opposite-sex operators, detention in different cells with video surveillance   11742/20 18/02/2020 Denis Nikolayevich PETROV     Settlement colony-51 Krasnoyarsk Region 06/11/2019 -15/11/2019 opposite-sex operators   20981/20 09/04/2020 Vasiliy Arkadyevich BOGATYREV     IK-5 Krasnoyarsk Region since 2011 and pending opposite-sex operators