31408/14;32432/14;12927/15;17262/15;17957/15;18035/15;23523/15;23890/15;25301/15;59787/15;59951/15

THIRD SECTION       CASE OF GASHIMOV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA (Applications nos. 31408/14 and 10 others - see appended list)             JUDGMENT         STRASBOURG   4 May 2017       This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Gashimov and Others v. Russia, The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:  Luis López Guerra, President,  Dmitry Dedov,  Branko Lubarda, judges, and Karen Reid, Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 30 March 2017, 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 complained of the inadequate conditions of their detention. Some applicants also raised other complaints under the provisions of the Convention. 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, §§ 139‑165, 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. 31408/14, 32432/14, 12927/15, 18035/15, 23890/15, 25301/15, 59787/15 and 59951/15, the applicants submitted other complaints which also raised issues under the Convention, in accordance with 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 Sergey Babushkin, cited above, §§ 38-45. IV.  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, to its case‑law and the long delay for some of the applicants in filing the application, the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table. 14.  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 applications admissible;   3.  Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention;   4.  Holds that there has been a violation as regards the other complaints raised under well-established case-law of the Court (see appended table);   5.  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 4 May 2017, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.  Karen Reid Luis López Guerra  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   Representative name and location Facility Start and end date Duration Number of inmates per brigade Sq. m. per inmate Number of toilets per brigade 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]     31408/14 04/04/2014 Ruslan Etibarovich Gashimov 14/07/1990 Sukhoyarskaya Tatyana Vasilyevna Moscow IK-25 Kirov Region 31/01/2013 pending More than 4 year(s) and 2 month(s)   1.3 m²         Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention - 14,000     32432/14 05/08/2014 Vladimir Petrovich Grebenshchikov 05/03/1961     IK-2 Zabaikalskiy Region 11/07/2007 pending More than 9 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 20 day(s)   190 inmate(s) 1.6-2.5 m²     not enough toilets, 7 sinks, no hot water, no ventilation, poor lighting, no partition between the toilet and the living space, tuberculosis and hepatitis-infected inmates in the cell   Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention - 13,000     12927/15 28/02/2015 Andrey Alekseyevich Katkov 08/11/1982     IK-2 Tomsk Region 13/01/2015 pending More than 2 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 18 day(s)   2 m²     no ventilation in cell, constant cigarette smoke, poor lighting with no access to natural light, poor sanitary conditions, squat toilet not separated from the living space and one metre away from the dining table, stench, no privacy when using toilet, poor quality of food, no hot water, outdoor exercise not every day, no radio or newspapers     Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention - 8,800     17262/15 24/03/2015 Dmitriy Gennadyevich Kovyazin 23/07/1972     IK-11 NIzhny Novgorod Region 21/05/2013 to 10/03/2015 1 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 18 day(s)   135 inmate(s) 2 m² 6 toilet(s)     6 sinks for 135 inmates, overcrowding, sanitary, poor quality of food, poor quality of uniform and footgear       5,000     17957/15 02/04/2015 Aleksandr Nikolayevich Smirnov 22/08/1983 Vinogradov Aleksandr Vladimirovich Kostroma IK-1 Kostroma Region 13/12/2012 to 12/02/2015 2 year(s) and 2 month(s)   160 inmate(s) 3 toilet(s)     3 sinks for 160 inmates, no flushing system, bedbugs and rats       5,000     18035/15 28/03/2015 Aleksandr Yuryevich Chesnokov 16/03/1984     IK-2 Tyumen Region 14/05/2011 to 03/10/2014 3 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 20 day(s)   500 inmate(s) 2.1 m² 17 toilet(s)     6 sinks (2 of them for washing feet) for 110 inmates, mould on the ceiling and walls, insects and rodents, no ventilation, every working day obliged to spend 4 hours in a recreation room with no ventilation and 0.75 sq. m. per inmate, poor quality of food, lack of requisite medical assistance, low temperature in the dormitory in winter time, tuberculosis-infected inmates in the dormitory   Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention - 5,000     23523/15 05/04/2015 Sergey Vladimirovich Shcherbakov 02/08/1974     IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region 07/07/2008 pending More than 8 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 24 day(s)     135 inmate(s) 2 m² 6 toilet(s)     6 sinks for 135 inmates, poor quality of food, inadequate clothes and footgear     11,000     23890/15 07/05/2015 Yakub Rafailovich Kaliyev 09/02/1966 Gordeyeva Margarita Vladimirovna Astrakhan IK-2 Astrakhan 10/04/2009 to 19/12/2014 5 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 10 day(s)   165 inmate(s) 1.6 m² 4 toilet(s)     vermin, inadequate temperature in the dormitory, no individual sleeping place, no adequate clothing for seasons, poor quality of food, poor lighting, lack of drinking water and poor sanitary facilities, inadequate conditions for washing, lack of space for outdoor exercise, 3 sinks for 165 inmates   Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention - 5,000     25301/15 07/05/2015 Oleg Borisovich Lunev 02/02/1971 Gordeyeva Margarita Vladimirovna Astrakhan IK-2 Astrakhan 12/11/2007 pending More than 9 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 19 day(s)   165 inmate(s) 1.9 m² 4 toilet(s)     4 sinks for 110-165 inmates, insects and rodents, inadequate temperature in the dormitory, no individual sleeping place, no adequate clothing for seasons, poor quality of food and drinking water, poor lighting, inadequate conditions for washing, lack of space for outdoor exercise, no privacy when using toilet   Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention - 10,800   59787/15 23/12/2013 Aleksey Mikhaylovich Zakharov 05/11/1973     IK-30 Perm Region 15/02/2012 to 01/12/2013 1 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 17 day(s)   130 inmate(s) 1.5 m² 8 toilet(s)     no ventilation, 6 sinks, no hot water, less than 5 minutes to wash himself weekly, poor quality of food   Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention - 5,000   59951/15 23/12/2013 Vitaliy Borisovich Tlunev 08/01/1966     IK-30 Perm Region 26/11/2011 to 13/11/2013 1 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 19 day(s)   130 inmate(s) 1.5 m² 8 toilet(s)     6 sinks, no ventilation, no hot water, less than 5 minutes to wash himself weekly, poor quality of food   Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in respect of inadequate conditions of detention - 5,000     [1].  Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.