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FOURTH SECTION CASE OF LEBED AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA (Applications nos. 5136/19 and 46 others – see appended list)           JUDGMENT   STRASBOURG 11 January 2024       This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.   In the case of Lebed and Others v. Russia, The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:  Branko Lubarda, President,  Armen Harutyunyan,  Ana Maria Guerra Martins, judges, and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 30 November 2023, 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 about their confinement in a metal cage in the courtroom during the criminal proceedings against them. Some applicants also raised other complaints under the provisions of the Convention. 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. Jurisdiction 6.  The Court observes that the facts giving rise to the alleged violations of the Convention occurred prior to 16 September 2022, the date on which the Russian Federation ceased to be a party to the Convention. The Court therefore decides that it has jurisdiction to examine the present applications (see Fedotova and Others v. Russia [GC], nos. 40792/10 and 2 others, §§ 68‑73, 17 January 2023). ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLES 3 AND 13 OF THE CONVENTION ON ACCOUNT OF CONFINEMENT IN A METAL CAGE IN THE COURTROOM 7.  The applicants complained principally about their confinement in a metal cage in the courtroom during the criminal proceedings against them. They relied on Article 3 of the Convention, which reads as follows: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Some applicants also complained that they had not had an effective domestic remedy in respect of their grievance under Article 3, contrary to Article 13 of the Convention, which reads as follows: “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.” 8.  The Court notes that the applicants were kept a metal cage in the courtroom in the context of their trial. In the leading cases of Svinarenko and Slyadnev v. Russia [GC], nos. 32541/08 and 43441/08, ECHR 2014 (extracts) and Vorontsov and Others v. Russia, nos. 59655/14 and 2 others, 31 January 2017, the Court already dealt with the issue of the use of metal cages in courtrooms and found that such a practice constituted in itself an affront to human dignity and amounted to degrading treatment prohibited by Article 3 of the Convention. 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’ confinement in a metal cage before the court during the criminal proceedings against them amounted to degrading treatment. 10.  These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention. 11.  In view of the above findings under Article 3 of the Convention, the Court considers that there is no need to deal separately with the applicants’ complaints under Article 13 of the Convention (for similar approach see Valyuzhenich v. Russia, no. 10597/13, § 27, 26 March 2019). OTHER ALLEGED VIOLATIONS UNDER WELL-ESTABLISHED CASE-LAW 12.  Some applicants submitted other complaints which also raised issues under the Convention, given the relevant well-established case-law of the Court (see the 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 well-established case-law (see Idalov v. Russia [GC], no. 5826/03, §§ 103‑08, 22 May 2012; and Tomov and Others v. Russia, nos. 18255/10 and 5 others, §§ 92-156, 9 April 2019, concerning inadequate conditions of transport and the lack of an effective remedy in that respect, Dirdizov v. Russia, no. 41461/10, §§ 101-11, 27 November 2012, concerning the excessive length of pre-trial detention; Idalov, cited above, §§ 154-58, concerning lengthy review of detention; and Andrey Smirnov v. Russia, no. 43149/10, §§ 35-57, 13 February 2018, concerning restrictions on family visits in pre-trial detention facilities). 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, Vorontsov and Others, cited above), 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; Holds that it has jurisdiction to deal with these applications as they relate to facts that took place before 16 September 2022; Declares the applications admissible; Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention on account of the applicants’ placement in a metal cage before the court during the criminal proceedings against them; Holds that there has been a violation of the Convention as regards the other complaints raised under the well-established case-law of the Court (see the appended table); Holds that it is not necessary to deal separately with the applicants’ complaints under Article 13 of the Convention related to the lack of an effective domestic remedy to complain about placement in a metal cage in courtrooms; 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 11 January 2024, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.    Viktoriya Maradudina Branko Lubarda  Acting Deputy Registrar President     APPENDIX List of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention (use of metal cages and/or other security arrangements in courtrooms) No. Application no. Date of introduction Applicant’s name Year of birth   Representative’s name and location Name of the court Date of the relevant judgment Other complaints under well-established case‑law Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros)[1]     5136/19 24/12/2018 Denis Alekseyevich LEBED Vtorushin Nikolay Aleksandrovich Tyumen Surgut District Court of Khanty-Mansy Region 14/08/2018   7,500     5210/19 18/12/2018 Mikhail Sergeyevich LATYSH     Tsentralnyy District Court of Novosibirsk; numerous hearings, proceedings were pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court   7,500     5345/19 18/12/2018 Nikita Vasilyevich RUSOV     Tsentralnyy District Court of Krasnoyarsk and Krasnoyarsk Regional Court from 14/09/2017 to 28/06/2018, and during the familiarising with his casefile in the courtroom of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Court on numerous occasions from 02/07/2018 to 28/01/2019   7,500     5354/19 17/01/2019 Yelena Vyacheslavovna MAKSIMOVA Sernovets Mariya Nikolayevna Moscow Moscow City Court Video link from IZ-6, Moscow 09/04/2018 Skopinskiy District Court of the Ryazan Region Video link from Settlement Colony no. 4, Ryazan Region 07/11/2018 Skopinskiy District Court of the Ryazan Region Video link from Settlement Colony no. 4, Ryazan Region 20/12/2018 Ryazan Regional Court Video link from Settlement Colony no. 4, Ryazan Region 14/01/2019 Lyublinskiy District Court of Moscow Video link from Settlement Colony no. 4, Ryazan Region 01/02/2019 Ryazan Regional Court Video link from Settlement Colony no. 4, Ryazan Region 26/03/2019   7,500     5355/19 08/01/2019 Sergey Nikolayevich SEVALNIKOV     Rudnichnyy District Court of Prokopyevsk, Kemerovo Region Court Kemerovo Regional Court (via a video link from a remand prison) 28/08/2018   7,500     6443/19 16/01/2019 Yuliya Viktorovna AMAYEVA Yezerskiy Aleksey Vladimirovich Samara Samarskiy District Court of Samara (placement in metal cages during trial hearings since 13/07/2018; Samara Regional Court (via video link on 02/08/2018) Zheleznodorozhniy District Court of Samara, Samara District Court of Samara, Samara Regional Court and Administration of Justice Department of Samara Criminal proceedings leading to the final judgment on 02/08/2018 Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of transport;   Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - numerous occasions of transport by prison van and detention in convoy cells from 22/09/2016 to 05/09/2018; from the detention facility to take part in court hearings; lack of fresh air, passive smoking, overcrowding, no or restricted access to toilet, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient electric light, sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease;   Art. 8 (1) - restrictions on family visits in pre-trial facilities - lack of and restrictions on visits by applicant’s family during her pre-trial detention from 02/07/2014 to 04/09/2018 in SIZO-3, Samara; SIZO-2 Syzran; SIZO-4 Tolyatti; IVS in Samara; refusal of short-term family visits, refusal of long-term family visits, limitation on the frequency of short-term family visits 8,500     7231/19 13/01/2019 Dmitriy Viktorovich FINOGEYEV     Oktyabrskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk 28/08/2018   7,500     7232/19 08/08/2019 Anton Dmitriyevich SIDOROVSKIY     Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (by means of video link from SIZO-3 Chelyabinsk) 13/02/2019 Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - Inadequate conditions of transport in an overcrowded prison van on 29/05/2019 from SIZO-3 Chelyabinsk to IK-47 Sverdlovsk Region; insufficient number of seats, overcrowding, inadequate temperature;   Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport 8,500     8388/19 24/01/2019 Kirill Vitalyevich MALUKHA     Moscow Region Court 16/10/2018 Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - van: numerous occasions of transport from 03/02/2017 to 07/10/2018: overcrowding; inadequate temperature, poor quality of potable water, no or restricted access to toilet; train: from 25/10/2018 to 11/12/2018; 1 sq. m per person; overcrowding, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to toilet 8,500   10048/19 06/02/2019 Natalya Lvovna ZUBOVA Yezerskiy Aleksey Vladimirovich Samara Samara District Court of Samara, Samara Regional Court; numerous court hearings concerning extension of the detention and appeals; including by video conferencing but at the same time in the metal cage; the the most recent hearing on 04/09/2018 Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport;   Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - van - conditions of transport between the detention facilities and courthouses on numerous occasions from 22/09/2016 to 05/09/2018; overcrowding, passive smoking, no or restricted access to toilet, lack or insufficient quantity of food, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, inadequate temperature 8,500   10839/19 11/02/2019 Roman Georgiyevich PETROV     Balakovskiy District Court of the Saratov Region 13/08/2018 Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - train, 17/09/2018 - 19/09/2018; 0.3 m² per inmate; lack of fresh air; passive smoking; insufficient number of sleeping places; restricted access to toilet; dirty cell; insufficient quantity of food 8,500   10855/19 08/04/2019 Petr Anatolyevich GOLOV     Nefteyuganskiy District Court of the Khanty-Mansy Autonomous Region 02/11/2018   7,500   10902/19 26/04/2019 Ivan Andreyevich TITOV     Leninskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk and the Krasnoyarsk Regional Court 21/11/2018   7,500   11420/19 28/01/2019 Igor Vladimirovich GUBKIN     Tugulumskiy District Court of Sverdlovsk Region 29/11/2018   7,500   12437/19 19/02/2019 Artem Vitalyevich LUGOVOY Lukyanova Svetlana Anatolyevna Khanty-Mansiysk Nefteyuganskiy District Court of Khanty-Mansy 02/11/2018   7,500   13039/19 01/07/2019 Stanislav Aleksandrovich KHALOSHA     Sverdlovskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk 20/03/2019   Leninskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk 02/04/2019 Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - transit cell, van from 08/12/2018 till 20/03/2019 - 0.5 m² per person, lack of or insufficient electric light, no ventilation, no or restricted access to toilet, absence of handles and other means to secure oneself during transport 8,500   13043/19 29/03/2019 Vladislav Alekseyevich BELKOV     Oktyabrskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk 12/10/2018   7,500   13548/19 18/02/2019 Igor Nikolayevich MELEKHIN     Polevskoy Town Court of Sverdlovsk Region, Sverdlovsk Region Court 28/08/2018   7,500   13931/19 18/02/2019 Stanislav Sergeyevich LAGUTIN Lukyanova Svetlana Anatolyevna Khanty-Mansiysk Leninskiy District Court of Tyumen 27/09/2018   7,500   14059/19 18/02/2019 Vyacheslav Faritovich YUSUPOV Lukyanova Svetlana Anatolyevna Khanty-Mansiysk Leninskiy District Court of Tyumen - placement in a metal cage during the hearings between 05/10/2017 and 27/09/2018   7,500   14276/19 18/02/2019 Vitaliy Andreyevich SEDYKH     Polevskoy Town Court of Sverdlovsk Region, Sverdlovsk Region Court 28/08/2018   7,500   14393/19 02/03/2019 Yelena Valentinovna SELIVERSTOVA Yezerskiy Aleksey Vladimirovich Samara Samara Regional Court, Zheleznodorozhniy District Court of Samara, Cultural Centre of the Ministry of Interior of Samara, Administration of Justice Department of Samara Region Since 27/07/2016, proceedings pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law and in respect of inadequate conditions of transport;   Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - from 05/03/2015 to 05/09/2018; overcrowding, passive smoking, no or restricted access to toilet       8,500   14689/19 04/03/2019 Larisa Eduardovna DETS Ovsyannikov Andrey Aleksandrovich Samara Zheleznodorzhniy District Court of Samara, Samarskiy District Court of Samara (hearings held at Samara Regional Court, Culture Centre of the Samara Regional Department of the Interior, Judicial Department of Samara), Samara Regional Court via video link from SIZO-2 Syzran - multiple hearings held between 30/01/2014 and 04/09/2018 Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - transport and detention in transit (convoy cells) on multiple occasions between 27/06/2016 and 04/09/2018: SIZO-3 Samara / SIZO-2 Syzran / SIZO-4 Tolyatti / PFRSI IK-5 Samara / IVS Samara / Samara Regional Court / Culture Centre of the Samara Regional Department of the Interior / Judicial Department of Samara; overcrowding, no or restricted access to toilet, lack or insufficient quantity of food, no or restricted access to potable water, inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air;   Art. 5 (3) - excessive length of pre-trial detention - from 29/01/2014 to 04/09/2018; for over 4 years, extended on standard repetitive reasoning; lack of diligence; the applicant was charged with fraud;   Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport 9,750   14709/19 04/03/2019 Viktor Ilyich SEROBABA Lukyanova Svetlana Anatolyevna Khanty-Mansiysk Kogalym Town Court of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Region 28/12/2018   7,500   14848/19 18/02/2019 Aleksandr Pavlovich DOLGOPOLOV     Leninskiy District Court of Tyumen 04/12/2018   7,500   15002/19 27/02/2019 Dzhamal Pirman Ogly BAYRAMOV     Roslavl Town Court of the Smolensk Region, Smolensk Regional Court 04/09/2018   7,500   16135/19 12/03/2019 Ruslan Borisovich RAKHAYEV Laptev Aleksey Nikolayevich Moscow Supreme Court of the Karachay-Cherkessia Republic 12/09/2018 Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport;   Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - transport by van and/or train, detention in a transit cell during the period from 15/06/2018 to 21/10/2018 / 0.3 sq. m. / overcrowding; no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to running water, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, inadequate temperature, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, no or restricted access to shower 8,500   16426/19 12/03/2019 Sergey Vyacheslavovich ZHUBARKIN Kitayev Maksim Valeryevich Ivanovo Ivanovo Regional Court (by means of video link from a remand prison) 14/09/2018   7,500   17445/19 15/03/2019 Nikolay Dmitriyevich PARKHOMENKO             Mikhaylova Svetlana Viktorovna St Petersburg Nevskiy District Court of St Petersburg, Leningrad Region Court (from 13/10/2017 to 18/10/2018)   7,500   18684/19 23/04/2019 Mikhail Aleksandrovich KUZMIN     Frunzenskiy District Court of St Petersburg; Kolpinskiy District Court of St Petersburg Video link from SIZO-1, St Petersburg; St Petersburg City Court Video link from SIZO-1, St Petersburg 27/02/2019 Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport between remand prison and courthouse (1) van; transport in a single-prisoner cubicle in a van, overcrowding, lack of fresh air, no handrails, no safety belts; sq. m per person - 0.2; 18/09/2017‑27/02/2019; (2) transit cell; overcrowding, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to running water, bad odour in cell, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to potable water; sq. m per person - 0.64; 18/09/2017‑27/02/2019;   Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect inadequate conditions of transport 8,500   19275/19 08/08/2019 Andrey Fanilevich NAZHMETDINOV     Krasnoyarsk Regional Court 08/04/2019 Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - 12/02/2019-08/04/2019; van, transit cell; 0.1-1 sq. m of personal space; lack of or insufficient natural light, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, mouldy or dirty cell   Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport 8,500   19487/19 03/04/2019 Aleksey Aleksandrovich STEPANOV Krikun Leonid Leonidovich St Petersburg Leninskiy District Court of St Petersburg 10/01/2019   St Petersburg City Court 14/02/2019     7,500   21292/19 25/03/2019 Olga Mikhaylovna FROLOVA     Oktyabrskiy District Court of Tambov, numerous hearings, pending on the date when the application was lodged with the Court Art. 5 (4) - excessive length of judicial review of detention - extension order of 21/02/2019 was examined on appeal on 29/03/2019 by the Tambov Regional Court (36 days) 8,000   21845/19 04/04/2019 Igor Anatolyevich LUKYANCHIKOV     Oktyabrskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk 08/10/2018   7,500   22505/19 18/04/2019 Grigoriy Ulyanovich PIRUMOV Kupriyanova Yelena Romanovna Moscow Dorogomilovskiy District Court of Moscow 13/11/2018   7,500   22974/19 05/04/2019 Andrey Aleksandrovich ZENKO     Oktyabrskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk 31/10/2018   7,500   23509/19 20/04/2019 Dmitriy Sergeyevich SHERSHEN Pavlov Anton Sergeyevich Saint Petersburg On numerous occasions before Kuybyshevskiy District Court 12/12/2018   7,500   23786/19 23/04/2019 Andrey Petrovich NOVITSKIY Koneva Nina Filippovna Khanty-Mansiysk Nefteyuganskiy District Court of the Khanty-Mansi Region 13/11/2018   7,500   24307/19 12/04/2019 Dmitriy Sergeyevich BOCHAROV Urlashov Aleksey Mikhaylovich St Petersburg Primorskiy District Court of St Petersburg 06/02/2019 Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport;   Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - numerous occasions of transport from the detention facility to the courthouse from 19/01/2018 to 06/02/2019; by an overcrowded van (0.3 sq. m of personal space); poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, inadequate temperature, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to toilet 8,500   24357/19 15/04/2019 Roman Vasilyevich KNYAZEV Yegorov Dmitriy Anatolyevich Domodedovo Istra Town Court of the Moscow Region; Moscow Region Court 16/10/2018 Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - numerous occasions of transport by prison van to the courthouse from 03/02/2017 to 16/10/2018; overcrowding - 0.5 sq. m of personal space; detention in a convoy cell; ack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient electric light, no or restricted access to toilet 8,500   24359/19 25/04/2019 Denis Valentinovich BURCHENKOV Malinin Viktor Ivanovich Kokhma Palekhskiy District Court of Ivanovo Region 03/06/2020 Ivanovo Regional Court 18/09/2020   7,500   24488/19 29/04/2019 Validzhon Dodikhudoyevich ISLOMOV Isayev Ayndi Khamzatovich Krasnoyarsk Leninskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk 20/11/2018   7,500   24544/19 29/04/2019 Dmitriy Aleksandrovich URBEL Isayev Ayndi Khamzatovich Krasnoyarsk Sovetskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk (metal cages during trial hearings in person); Krasnoyarsk Regional Court (video link from a remand prison), 30/10/2018   7,500   24820/19 26/04/2019 Yevgeniy Valeryevich SINELEV       Supreme Court of the Chuvashia Republic 01/11/2018   7,500   25358/19 23/04/2019 Valeriy Mikhaylovich SKURLATOV     Nefteyuganskiy District Court of Khanty-Mansy Autonomous Region 13/11/2018   7,500   26135/19 29/08/2019 Aleksandr Arturovich GELD     Sverdlovskiy District Court of the Krasnoyarsk Region 07/08/2019   7,500   26257/19 19/04/2019 Andrey Vladimirovich NIZIKOV Nevzorov Dmitriy Gennadyevich St Petersburg Petrogradskiy District Court of St Petersburg; Smolnenskiy District Court of St Petersburg; Kuybyshevskiy District Court of St Petersburg St Petersburg City Court 31/10/2019   7,500     [1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.