25427/23;28767/23;28793/23;28798/23;28801/23;28861/23;28864/23;32055/23;32080/23;32354/23;32358/23;35870/23;41922/23;1469/24

FIFTH SECTION CASE OF BOROMENSKYY AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE (Applications nos. 25427/23 and 13 others – see appended list)             JUDGMENT   STRASBOURG 28 November 2024   This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Boromenskyy and Others v. Ukraine, The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:  Diana Sârcu, President,  Kateřina Šimáčková,  Mykola Gnatovskyy, judges, and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 7 November 2024, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date: PROCEDURE 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. THE LAW JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS 4.  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 3 AND 13 OF THE CONVENTION 5.  The applicants complained principally of the inadequate conditions of their detention during the periods indicated in the appended table and that they had no effective remedy in this connection. They relied on Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention. 6.  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, Muršić v. Croatia [GC], no. 7334/13, §§ 96‑101, ECHR 2016). It reiterates in particular that a serious lack of space in a prison cell weighs heavily as a factor to be taken into account for the purpose of establishing whether the detention conditions described are “degrading” from the point of view of Article 3 and may disclose a violation, both alone or taken together with other shortcomings (see Muršić, cited above, §§ 122-41, and Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 149‑59, 10 January 2012). 7.  In the leading cases of Melnik v. Ukraine (no. 72286/01, 28 March 2006) and Sukachov v. Ukraine (no. 14057/17, 30 January 2020), the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case. 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. In particular, the Court observes that, in reply to a prima facie case of inadequate conditions of detention, complained of by the applicants, the Government have failed to provide any primary evidence showing cell floor plans and the actual number of inmates during the specific periods of the applicants’ detention (see Ananyev and Others, cited above, § 123, and, for example, Sparysh and Kutsmand v. Ukraine [Committee], nos. 49709/18 and 49870/18, 12 September 2024). Having regard to its case-law on the subject, the Court considers that in the instant case the applicants’ conditions of detention during the periods indicated in the appended table were inadequate. 9.  The Court further notes that the applicants did not have at their disposal an effective remedy in respect of these complaints. 10.  These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention. REMAINING COMPLAINTS 11.  Some applicants also raised additional complaints under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention. 12.  The Court has examined these complaints 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 13.  Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Sukachov, cited above, §§ 165 and 167), 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; Declares the complaints concerning the inadequate conditions of detention, during the periods indicated in the appended table, and the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law admissible, and the remainder of the applications inadmissible; Holds that these complaints disclose a breach of Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention during the periods indicated in the appended table and the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in that regard; 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 28 November 2024, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.  Viktoriya Maradudina Diana Sârcu  Acting Deputy Registrar President       APPENDIX List of applications raising complaints under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention (inadequate conditions of detention and lack of any effective remedy in domestic law) No. Application no. Date of introduction Applicant’s name Year of birth   Representative’s name and location Facility Start and end date Duration Sq. m per inmate Specific grievances Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage per applicant (in euros)[1]     25427/23 04/06/2023 Leonid Sergiyovych BOROMENSKYY   Rybiy Sergiy Mykolayovych Dnipro   Zamkova Detention Facility 15/08/2018 to 29/08/2023 5 year(s) and 15 day(s)       Zamkova Detention Facility 08/09/2023 pending More than 11 month(s) and 29 day(s) 3.9 m²             3.9 m² Overcrowding, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, inadequate temperature, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air   Overcrowding, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, inadequate temperature, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air 7,500     28767/23 06/07/2023 Mykola Mykhaylovych KIRSANOV   Zamkova Detention Facility no. 58 16/02/2023 pending More than 1 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 22 day(s) 3.8 m² Overcrowding, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light 4,100     28793/23 06/07/2023 Leonid Oleksandrovych BONDAR   Zamkova Detention Facility no. 58 04/11/2021 pending More than 2 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 3 day(s) 3.7 m² 6,500     28798/23 06/07/2023 Volodymyr Dmytrovych CHERNETEVYCH   Zamkova Detention Facility no. 58 18/12/2005 pending More than 18 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 20 day(s) 3.7 m² 7,500     28801/23 06/07/2023 Arkadiy Anatoliyovych SIDYAYEV   Zamkova Detention Facility no. 58 17/01/2015 pending More than 9 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 21 day(s) 3.7 m² 7,500     28861/23 06/07/2023 Vitaliy Viktorovych MARCHENKO   Zamkova Detention Facility no. 58 05/12/2019 pending More than 4 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 2 day(s) 3.75 m² 7,500     28864/23 06/07/2023 Oleksandr Vitaliyovych BUYAVETS   Zamkova Detention Facility no. 58 14/03/2022 pending More than 2 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 24 day(s) 3.7 m² 5,800     32055/23 06/08/2023 Viktor Mykolayovych CHEPIZHKO   Zamkova Detention Facility no. 58 08/11/2022 pending More than 1 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 30 day(s) 3.9 m² 4,600     32080/23 07/08/2023 Oleksandr Oleksiyovych KORNIYKO   Zamkova Detention Facility no. 58 09/08/2022 pending More than 2 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 3 day(s) 3.65 m² 5,200   32354/23 07/08/2023 Volodymyr Vasylyovych OLENICH   Zamkova Detention Facility 10/12/2005 pending More than 17 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 26 day(s)   3.7 m² 7,500   32358/23 07/08/2023 Oleg Viktorovych LYSENKO   Zamkova Detention Facility 05/12/2009 pending More than 13 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 1 day(s) 3.7 m² 7,500   35870/23 15/09/2023 Igor Mykolayovych YANKOVENKO   Zamkova Detention Facility no. 58 05/06/2023 pending More than 1 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 2 day(s) 3.7 m² 3,700   41922/23 04/10/2023 Ruslan Anatoliyovych IGLIN       Zamkova Detention Facility no. 58 04/07/2022 pending More than 2 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 12 day(s) 2.6 m² 5,300   1469/24 12/12/2023 Dmytro Viktorovych MOZER   Rybiy Sergiy Mykolayovych Dnipro Zamkova Detention Facility 11/10/2023 pending More than 11 month(s) and 6 day(s) 3.8 m² 3,100   [1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.