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FOURTH SECTION CASE OF SAMARUKOV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA (Applications nos. 54274/18 and 31 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 Samarukov 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 of the inadequate conditions of their detention. 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 ARTICLE 3 OF THE CONVENTION 7.  The applicants complained principally of the inadequate conditions of their detention. 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.” 8.  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). 9.  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. 10.  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. 11.  These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention. 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 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 Sergey Babushkin, cited above, §§ 38-45, concerning the lack of an effective remedy for the complaint about conditions of post-conviction detention; Idalov v. Russia [GC], no. 5826/03, §§ 103-08 and 154-58, 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). 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, Sergey Babushkin v. Russia, (just satisfaction), no. 5993/08, 16 October 2014 and Mozharov and Others v. Russia, no. 16401/12 and 9 others, 21 March 2017), 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 concerning the inadequate conditions of detention after conviction; 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 (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 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 (inadequate conditions of detention after conviction) No. Application no. Date of introduction Applicant’s name Year of birth Representative’s name and location Facility Start and end date Duration 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]     54274/18 06/11/2018 Yevgeniy Andreyevich SAMARUKOV     IK-5 Kirov Region 25/04/2017 to 06/10/2019 2 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 12 day(s) 100 inmate(s) 2.8 m² overcrowding, no or restricted access to shower, poor quality of food, lack or insufficient quantity of food, lack of requisite medical assistance Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 8,000     54431/18 12/02/2019 Valeriy Pavlovich SHMELEV     IK-29 Kirov Region 02/04/2014 to 29/08/2018 4 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 28 day(s) <2-2 m² poor quality of food, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of potable water, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, passive smoking Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 5,000     54596/18 08/11/2018 Nikolay Sergeyevich KNYAZEV     IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region 20/06/2017, pending as of 16/09/2022 5 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 28 day(s) 120 inmate(s) 1.5 m² 8 toilet(s) lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, overcrowding, lack of requisite medical assistance, poor quality of food   12,500     54655/18 05/11/2018 Yuriy Aleksandrovich KHAVANOV     IK-4 Arkhangelsk Region 04/06/2015, pending as of 16/09/2022 7 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 13 day(s) 130 inmate(s) <2 m² 7 toilet(s) mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to warm water, overcrowding, lack or inadequate furniture Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,500     54748/18 02/11/2018 Vladimir Arkadyevich KOLTSOV     IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region 20/04/2017, pending as of 16/09/2022 5 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 28 day(s) 1.7 m² lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to toilet, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack or inadequate furniture, overcrowding Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,500     54822/18 09/11/2018 Khabibullo Abdullayevich GULOV     IK-29 Kirov Region 23/03/2012, pending as of 16/09/2022 10 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 25 day(s) 2.4 m² lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food, overcrowding Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,500     54887/18 29/10/2018 Aleksandr Vyacheslavovich TARAKANOV     IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region 10/01/2017, pending as of 16/09/2022 5 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 7 day(s) 1.6 m² lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to running water, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, poor quality of food, small local area, passive smoking, no or restricted access to shower, overcrowding Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,500     54908/18 28/01/2019 Vyacheslav Igorevich YEMELYANOV     IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region 01/08/2017, pending as of 16/09/2022 5 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 16 day(s) 1.3 m² overcrowding, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient electric light, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, bunk beds, poor quality of food Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,500     54933/18 06/11/2018 Maksim Mikhaylovich LOSHKAREV     IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region 01/10/2015, pending as of 16/09/2022 6 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 16 day(s) 1.6 m² lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities, lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to running water, no or restricted access to toilet, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, small local area, lack of requisite medical assistance, poor quality of food, overcrowding Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,500   55403/18 08/11/2018 Aleksandr Valeryevich UTYUZHNIKOV Malinin Andrey Anatolyevich Pechora IK-1 Komi Republic 01/10/2016, pending as of 16/09/2022 5 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 16 day(s) 30 inmate(s) 1.67 m² 2 toilet(s) constant electric light, overcrowding, poor quality of food, lack of privacy for toilet, infestation of cell with insects/rodents Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention and in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport;   Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - inadequate conditions during his transportation on 30/07/2018: overcrowding (0.35 sq. m. per person), lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to toilet 13,500   55413/18 09/11/2018 Andrey Yuryevich KUZMINSKIY     IK-1 Arkhangelsk Region 31/12/2017, pending as of 16/09/2022 4 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 17 day(s) 88 inmate(s) 1.6 m² 4 toilet(s) overcrowding, no or restricted access to running water, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to toilet, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,500   55563/18 12/11/2018 Oleg Aleksandrovich KRASNOV Preobrazhenskaya Oksana Vladimirovna Strasbourg IK-6 Orenburg Region 21/03/2002, pending as of 16/09/2022 20 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 27 day(s) 6 inmate(s) 2 m² lack of fresh air, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or insufficient electric light, overcrowding Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,500   55592/18 09/11/2018 Aleksey Viktorovich TSVETKOV     IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region 01/07/2015, pending as of 16/09/2022 7 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 16 day(s) 110 inmate(s) 1.3 m² lack of fresh air, overcrowding, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, small local area, lack of requisite medical assistance, lack or inadequate furniture       Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,500   55827/18 10/11/2018 Aleksey Igorevich IVANOV     IK-25 Chelyabinsk Region 09/11/2017, pending as of 16/09/2022 4 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 8 day(s) 135 inmate(s) 2.2 m² 8 toilet(s) overcrowding, lack of fresh air, insufficient number of toilets and wash basins, poor quality of potable water, insufficient number of hygiene items provided Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,500   55985/18 17/11/2018 Vitaliy Viktorovich ZATSEPIN     IK-1 Arkhangelsk Region 08/04/2005 to 26/12/2021 16 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 19 day(s) 85 inmate(s) <2 m² 4 toilet(s) no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, overcrowding Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,000   55992/18 12/11/2018 Ivan Olegovich KOLOBOV     IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod 22/05/2017, pending as of 16/09/2022 5 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 26 day(s) 1.6 m² lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, constant electric light, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack or insufficient quantity of food, overcrowding, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to toilet   12,500   56201/18 14/11/2018 Yuriy Sergeyevich MASHKOVSKIY     IK-5 Krasnoyarsk Region 09/07/2018, pending as of 16/09/2022 4 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 8 day(s) 110 inmate(s) 2.2-2.7 m² 4 toilet(s) lack of privacy for toilet, lack of fresh air, overcrowding, inadequate temperature, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, mouldy or dirty cell       Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,500   56202/18 14/11/2018 Aleksey Petrovich RUBAN     IK-5 Krasnoyarsk Region 20/01/2015 to 27/05/2019 4 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 8 day(s) 150 inmate(s) 2-2.6 m² 4 toilet(s) lack of privacy for toilet, overcrowding, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, infestation of cell with insects, lack or inadequate furniture, lack or inadequate cloths   Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 6,800   56525/18 27/11/2018 Konstantin Vladimirovich GLUKHOV     OIK-36 IK-5 Krasnoyarsk Region 18/11/2018 to 06/02/2019 2 month(s) and 20 day(s) 140 inmate(s) 2.55 m² overcrowding, no or restricted access to running water, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of requisite medical assistance, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - 17/08/2018 to 18/08/2018, train: overcrowding, insufficient number of sleeping places, no or restricted access to toilet, lack or insufficient quantity of food, 13 inmates per train compartment; 14/11/2018 to 15/11/2018, transit cell, van: overcrowding, no or restricted access to toilet, 30 inmates (transport by van), 14 hours’ transfer by van on 14/11/2018, no individual sleeping place provided in a transit cell on 15/11/2018;   Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention and in respect of poor conditions of transport 2,300   56684/18 14/11/2018 Dmitriy Yuryevich BOLSHAKOV     IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region 26/07/2017, pending as of 16/09/2022 5 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 22 day(s) 1.3 m² lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to running water, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, inadequate temperature, inappropriate clothes, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, poor quality of food, mouldy or dirty cell Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,500   56698/18 12/11/2018 Nikolay Nikolayevich SOKIRKO     IK-1 Komi Republic 25/08/2018, pending as of 16/09/2022 4 year(s) and 23 day(s) 47 inmate(s) 1.7 m² infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of toiletries, lack or inadequate furniture, no or restricted access to warm water, overcrowding, passive smoking Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention and in respect of poor conditions of transport;   Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - transport by train from 13/04/2018 to 23/08/2018 - lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, passive smoking, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient electric light, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to toilet 13,500   56719/18 16/11/2018 Yevgeniy Nikolayevich SKATOV     IK-2 (cell-type facility), IK-5 (hospital) Zabaykalskiy Region 04/02/2018 to 09/08/2020 2 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 6 day(s) 2-3 m² mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to shower Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 9,900   56772/18 19/11/2018 Maksim Aleksandrovich KUSHNIRUK     IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region 31/07/2017, pending as of 16/09/2022 5 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 17 day(s) 140 inmate(s) 1.5 m² overcrowding, lack of dormitory surface to move freely between furniture items, bad odour in dormitory, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to running water, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of requisite medical assistance, lack or inadequate furniture, poor quality of food         Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,500   56798/18 02/11/2018 Oleg Ivanovich SMIRNOV     IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region 20/08/2017, pending as of 16/09/2022 5 year(s) and 28 day(s) 120 inmate(s) 1.2 m² 6 toilet(s) overcrowding, lack of dormitory surface to move freely between furniture items, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to running water, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, passive smoking, poor quality of food, lack or inadequate furniture Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,500   56870/18 17/11/2018 Sergey Aleksandrovich VORONIN     IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region 01/04/2017, pending as of 16/09/2022 5 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 16 day(s) 1.7 m² overcrowding, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to running water, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,500   56892/18 21/10/2018 Maksim Eduardovich BUTAKOV     IK-25 Chelyabinsk Region 21/09/2017, pending as of 16/09/2022 4 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 27 day(s) 62 inmate(s) 1.4 m² lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, poor quality of food, overcrowding Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,500   56948/18 14/11/2018 Aleksandr Vladimirovich GARIN     IK-1 Arkhangelsk Region 05/06/2015, pending as of 16/09/2022 7 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 12 day(s) 84 inmate(s) 1.7 m² overcrowding, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to running water, no or restricted access to warm water Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,500   57343/18 19/11/2018 Vladimir Aleksandrovich LEBEDINSKIY     IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region 01/05/2014, pending as of 16/09/2022 8 year(s) and 4 month(s) and 16 day(s) 120 inmate(s) 1.46 m² 8 toilet(s) sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease, poor quality of food, overcrowding, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to running water   12,500   57384/18 19/11/2018 Eduard Viktorovich POSMITNYY     IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region 25/01/2010, pending as of 16/09/2022 12 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 23 day(s) 120 inmate(s) 1.7 m² 5 toilet(s) overcrowding, poor quality of food, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,500   57412/18 23/11/2018 Aleksandr Vasilyevich KARPOV     IK-5 Kirov Region 27/07/2017 to 12/05/2019 1 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 16 day(s) 2.2 m² no or restricted access to shower, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, inappropriate clothes, poor quality of food, overcrowding in the kitchen, lack of requisite medical assistance Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 6,500   57704/18 02/11/2018 Artem Sergeyevich IGNATOV     OIK-36 IK-5 Krasnoyarsk Region 20/09/2017, pending as of 16/09/2022 4 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 28 day(s) 112 inmate(s) 2.25 m² 2 toilet(s) overcrowding, narrow passages in the cell, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to running water, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or restricted access to leisure or educational activities, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to shower   12,500   57804/18 15/11/2018 Aleksandr Yuryevich POLYNKIN     IK-11 Nizhniy Novgorod Region 27/07/2015, pending as of 16/09/2022 7 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 21 day(s) 130 inmate(s) 1.4 m² 8 toilet(s) infestation of cell with insects/rodents, insufficient number of sleeping places, poor quality of food, poor quality of potable water, overcrowding, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention 12,500     [1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.