587/24;8121/24;11033/24

FIFTH SECTION CASE OF KOVALEVSKYY AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE (Applications nos. 587/24 and 2 others – see appended list)             JUDGMENT   STRASBOURG 28 August 2025   This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Kovalevskyy and Others v. Ukraine, The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:  Andreas Zünd, President,  Diana Sârcu,  Mykola Gnatovskyy, judges, and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 3 July 2025, 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. 4.  The applicants complained of the inadequate conditions of their detention and of the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law. 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. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLES 3 AND 13 OF THE CONVENTION 6.  The applicants complained principally of the inadequate conditions of their detention and lack of an effective remedy in this connection. They relied on Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention. 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, 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). 8.  The Court also refers to its standard of proof and methods for assessment of evidence in conditions-of-detention cases (see Muršić, cited above, §§ 127-28). In particular, in reply to a prima facie case of ill-treatment, complained of by the applicants, the Government is expected to provide 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). In this connection, the Court observes that, in the context of applications nos. 587/24 and 8121/24, the Government submitted certificates issued by the detention facility concerned, purporting to indicate the amount of personal living space afforded to the respective applicants. However, the Court notes that these certificates are not dated and fail to specify either the period during which the applicants were accommodated in the referenced cells or the actual number of inmates present therein. Accordingly, the Court considers that these documents cannot be regarded as reliable evidence and therefore cannot be taken into account in its assessment. Other documents and photographs, related to air, food, water quality control, pest control, temperature and luminosity measurements, bathing facilities, privacy of toilet, laundry services, etc., should pertain to cells and periods of the applicants’ detention. 9.  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. 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.  The Court further notes that the applicants did not have at their disposal an effective remedy in respect of these complaints. 12.  These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention. OTHER ALLEGED VIOLATIONS UNDER WELL-ESTABLISHED CASE-LAW 13.  In applications nos. 587/24 and 8121/24, the 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 findings in cases set out in the appended table. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION 14.  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 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 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 period plus three percentage points. Done in English, and notified in writing on 28 August 2025, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.    Viktoriya Maradudina Andreas Zünd  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 Other complaints under well-established case-law Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage per applicant (in euros)[1]     587/24 17/12/2023 Dmytro Sergiyovych KOVALEVSKYY   Kushnir Valeriy Oleksandrovych Dnipro Kyiv Pre-Trial Detention Facility 25/04/2018 pending More than 7 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 27 day(s) 2.55-2.67 m² lack of fresh air, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, lack of toiletries, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to shower, passive smoking, poor quality of potable water, poor quality of food, overcrowding, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air Art. 6 (1) - excessive length of criminal proceedings - 22/03/2018 - pending, 2 levels of jurisdiction (see Nechay v. Ukraine, no. 15360/10, §§ 67-79, 1 July 2021);   Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of excessive length of criminal proceedings (see Nechay v. Ukraine, no. 15360/10, §§ 67-79, 1 July 2021)   9,800     8121/24 26/02/2024 Oleksiy Mykolayovych SYDOROVYCH   Yolkin Andriy Valeriyovych Kryvyy Rig Kyiv Pre-Trial Detention Facility 24/02/2022 pending More than 3 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 28 day(s) 2.52 - 2.96 m² overcrowding, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of toiletries, mouldy or dirty cell, inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, no or restricted access to potable water, poor quality of potable water, no or restricted access to warm water, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, no or restricted access to shower, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food Art. 6 (1) - excessive length of criminal proceedings - 21/07/2021 - pending, 1 level of jurisdiction (see Nechay v. Ukraine, no. 15360/10, §§ 67-79, 1 July 2021);   Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of excessive length of criminal proceedings - (see Nechay v. Ukraine, no. 15360/10, §§ 67-79, 1 July 2021), 9,500     11033/24 22/02/2024 Yuriy Anatoliyovych FALEVYCH   Pustyntsev Andriy Vitaliyovych Dnipro Poltava Detention Facility no. 23 25/06/2021 to 23/04/2024 2 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 30 day(s) 2.5 m² overcrowding, passive smoking, no or restricted access to shower, lack of fresh air, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, infestation of cell with insects/rodents   6,400   [1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.