3938/23;34556/23;35271/23

FIFTH SECTION CASE OF VASYLENKO AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE (Application no. 3938/23 and 2 others – see appended list)             JUDGMENT   STRASBOURG 6 June 2024   This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Vasylenko and Others v. Ukraine, The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:  Carlo Ranzoni, President,  Mārtiņš Mits,  María Elósegui, judges, and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 16 May 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 of the inadequate conditions of their detention 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. Having regard to its case-law on the subject, the Court considers that in the instant case the applicants’ conditions of detention 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. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION 11.  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 applications admissible; Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention and the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law; 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 6 June 2024, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.  Viktoriya Maradudina Carlo Ranzoni  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]     3938/23 05/12/2022 Sergiy Vasylyovych VASYLENKO     Romny Detention Facility no. 56 28/08/2004 to 17/03/2023 18 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 18 day(s) 3.25 m² constant electric light, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to shower, overcrowding 7,500     34556/23 01/09/2023 Sergiy Viktorovych BEZUGLYY Yolkin Andriy Valeriyovych Kryvyy Rig Kyiv detention facility 04/09/2021 to 04/07/2023 1 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 1 day(s) 2.5 - 3 m² overcrowding, lack of privacy for toilet, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of fresh air, poor quality of food, infestation of cell with insects/rodents 4,700     35271/23 11/09/2023 Bogdan Volodymyrovych KONSEVYCH Pustyntsev Andriy Vitaliyovych Dnipro Zhytomyr Detention Facility no. 8 03/06/2019 pending More than 4 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 3 day(s) 2.5-3.1 m² overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of toiletries, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to shower, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of privacy for toilet, passive smoking 7,500   [1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.