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THIRD SECTION CASE OF KOMAROV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA (Applications nos. 59242/19 and 50 others – see appended list)             JUDGMENT   STRASBOURG 4 July 2024   This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Komarov and Others v. Russia, The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:  Peeter Roosma, President,  Ioannis Ktistakis,  Andreas Zünd, judges, and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 30 May 2024, 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. 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. 8.  The Court notes that the applicants were kept in 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, no. 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 (taking also into account the three-month extension introduced by decision of the President of the Court in 2020 as a consequence of the lockdown imposed in France on account of the COVID‑19 pandemic (see Saakashvili v. Georgia (dec.), nos. 6232/20 and 22394/20, §§ 46-59, 1 March 2022) 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). 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 that the finding of a violation in application no. 3457/21 will constitute in itself sufficient just satisfaction (see Ivanov and Others v. Russia [Committee], nos. 44363/14 and 2 others, § 12, 4 June 2020, and Puzanov v. Russia [Committee], nos. 26895/14 and 2 other applications, § 13, 15 September 2022). It further finds it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table to the remaining applicants. 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 that the finding of a violation constitutes in itself sufficient just satisfaction for the non-pecuniary damage sustained by the applicant in application no. 3457/21; Holds (a)  that the respondent State is to pay the remaining 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 July 2024, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.    Viktoriya Maradudina Peeter Roosma  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 or date of the relevant period Other complaints under well-established case-law Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros)[1]     59242/19 01/08/2019 Aleksandr Dmitriyevich KOMAROV     Vyborgskiy District Court of St Petersburg 05/03/2019   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 - van; applicant transported on numerous occasions between the detention facility and the courthouse from 06/04/2018 to 05/03/2019; 0.4 sq. m. of personal space; lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient electric light, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to potable water, overcrowding, passive smoking, restricted access to toilet during lengthy trips 8,500     59284/19 16/10/2019 Vladimir Vasilyevich RUSYAYEV     Kalininskiy District Court of St Petersburg (metal cages during court hearings in person); St Petersburg City Court (video link from SIZO-1, St Petersburg) 24/09/2019   7,500     60946/19 28/01/2020 Roman Gennadyevich TROFIMOV     Tsentralnyy District Court of Krasnoyarsk; Krasnoyarsk Regional Court; Zheleznodorozhnyy District Court of Krasnoyarsk 25/09/2019 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 - by van on numerous occasions within the pending criminal proceedings since 04/07/2017; 0.3 sq. m of personal space; no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to potable water, inadequate temperature   8,500     62669/19 14/11/2019 Yevgeniy Yuryevich PETRUNIN     Minusinsk Town Court 24/05/2019   7,500     62937/19 04/02/2020 Aleksandr Yevgenyevich DATSIY     Sverdlovskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk 04/09/2019   7,500     64329/19 09/12/2019 Dmitriy Yevgenyevich ZHIDKIKH     Omskiy District Court of the Omsk Region 21/06/2019   7,500     65268/19 25/11/2019 Ivan Yuryevich LAGONSKIY Vtorushina Olga Aleksandrovna Tyumen Khanty-Mansiyskiy District Court 08/08/2019   7,500     489/20 24/01/2020 Igor Vladimirovich ZLOBIN     Primorskiy District Court of St Petersburg 02/12/2019 Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law and in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport;   Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - numerous occasions of transport by van between the detention facility and the courthouse since 07/09/2019 and on-going; 0.3 sq. m of personal space; no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to potable water, overcrowding, inadequate temperature, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air 8,500     1601/20 19/12/2019 Bair Budazhapovich DAMDINOV     Aginskiy District Court of the Zabaykalskiy Region 03/07/2019 Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - by van on numerous occasions between the detention facility and the courthouse from 13/12/2018 to 03/07/2019, 0.25 sq. m. of personal space; inadequate temperature, passive smoking, lack of fresh air, overcrowding 8,500   1655/20 10/12/2019 Yevgeniy Yuryevich IVANOV     Berezovskiy District Court of the Krasnoyarsk Region 12/07/2019   7,500   2421/20 23/12/2019 Vladimir Vladimirovich SAFYANOV       Vorkuta Town Court 01/07/2019   7,500   2708/20 11/12/2019 Dmitriy Viktorovich KOCHETKOV Miller Irina Vladimirovna Kansk Sovetskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk, Krasnoyarsk Regional Court (by way of video conference) 15/08/2019     7,500   3966/20 21/12/2019 Aleksey Dmitriyevich AMIROV     Krasnogvardeyskiy District Court of St Petersburg 24/06/2019 Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - in prison vans and transit cells on numerous occasions to take part in court hearings or investigative actions; from 30/03/2016 to 24/06/2019; overcrowding, poor quality of food 3,200   6540/20 26/12/2019 Denis Fedorovich KYULYAN     Vorkuta Town Court of the Komi Republic 01/07/2019 Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - in van and transit cells, from 20/09/2018 to 01/07/2019, on numerous occasions, overcrowding, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack or inadequate furniture, passive smoking;   Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport 8,500   6771/20 03/01/2020 Alisher Yakheyevich DZHURAYEV Golets Yevgeniya Sergeyevna Moscow Surgut Town Court 25/07/2019   7,500   6829/20 22/01/2020 Aleksandr Konstantinovich KOZLOV     Tsentralnyy District Court of Chelyabinsk, Chelyabinsk Regional Court (video link from SIZO-1, Chelyabinsk Region) 09/10/2019     7,500   7001/20 09/01/2020 Artem Sergeyevich ZOLOTUKHIN     Naberezhnyye Chelny Town Court 04/12/2019 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 - by van on numerous occasions from the detention facility to the courthouse between 06/11/2016 and 04/12/2019; 0.3 sq. m. of personal space; overcrowding, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, handcuffing during transport, lack of safety belts, no or restricted access to toilet 8,500   7794/20 21/01/2020 Andrey Nikolayevich BREUS Golets Yevgeniya Sergeyevna Moscow Tyulmenskiy District Court of the Altay Region; Altay Regional Court (video link from SIZO-1, Altay Region) 30/08/2019   7,500   8537/20 28/01/2020 Yevgeniy Nikolayevich IVANOV Miller Irina Vladimirovna Kansk Mogocha District Court (in a courtroom); Zabaykalskiy Regional Court (video link from SIZO-1 Chita) 20/08/2019   7,500   8753/20 31/12/2019 Anton Igorevich KUZMIN     Vorkuta Town Court of the Komi Republic 01/07/2019 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 - by van from the detention facility to the courthouse on numerous occasions from 20/09/2018 to 01/07/2019; 0.3. sq. m. of personal space; overcrowding; lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature 8,500   9116/20 28/01/2020 Valeriy Ivanovich MOKSHIN     Novosibirsk Regional Court; Supreme Court of Russia 01/08/2019   7,500   9621/20 01/02/2020 Alfred Vayazovich BASHIROV     Lomonosovskiy District Court of Arkhangelsk, Arkhangelsk Regional Court 12/12/2019   7,500   12253/20 20/02/2020 Rakhmatillo Razivoyevich SHARIPOV Sergeyeva Yelizaveta Alekseyevna Tyumen Surgut Town Court 27/09/2019   7,500   12272/20 20/02/2020 Takhir Ganir ogly AKHMEDOV Sergeyeva Yelizaveta Alekseyevna Tyumen Leninskiy District Court of Tyumen 25/09/2019   7,500   12917/20 26/02/2020 Pavel Aleksandrovich IGNATOV     Justice of the Peace of the Krasnozatonskiy Judicial Circuit of Syktyvkar, Komi Republic 29/08/2019   7,500   14130/20 17/02/2020 Viktor Andreyevich SORVACHEV     Justice of the Peace of the Kuratovskiy Judicial Circuit of Syktyvkar, Komi Republic 13/11/2019   7,500   14599/20 20/02/2020 Ruslan Dmitriyevich ISIMBAYEV     Berezovskiy District Court of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Region - Yugra 30/10/2019   7,500   15105/20 02/03/2020 Sergey Sergeyevich BABURA     Krasnoyarsk Regional Court 05/09/2019   7,500   15458/20 13/03/2020 Yevgeniy Anatolyevich BEREZHNOV Polonskiy Aleksandr Viktorovich Volgograd Kamyshyn Town Court of the Volgograd Region 06/02/2020   7,500   17760/20 26/03/2020 Ivan Vasilyevich MELNIK Isayev Ayndi Khamzatovich Krasnoyarsk Bolshemurtinskiy District Court of the Krasnoyarsk Region 03/02/2020   7,500   18413/20 28/03/2020 Ivan Sergeyevich KHNYKIN     Nizhnevartovsk Town Court of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Region - Yugra 30/09/2019   7,500   19438/20 18/03/2020 Rustam Ablulla ogly BABAYEV Sergeyeva Yelizaveta Alekseyevna Tyumen Tsentralnyy District Court of Tyumen 28/11/2019   7,500   20495/20 26/02/2020 Bair Gurozhapovich TSYDENOV Miller Irina Vladimirovna Kansk Aginskiy District Court of the Zabaykalskiy Region; Zabaykalskiy Regional Court Zabaykalskiy Regional Court; Video link from SIZO-1, Zabaykalsk Region 22/10/2019   7,500   20616/20 24/04/2020 Artem Andreyevich BIZIN     Justice of the Peace of the Vorshagor Judicial Circuit of Vorkuta; Vorkuta Town Court of the Komi Republic 04/12/2019   7,500   24099/20 19/05/2020 Andrey Nikolayevich STRAKHOV Sergeyeva Yelizaveta Alekseyevna Tyumen Tsentralnyy District Court of Tyumen 04/03/2020   7,500   28225/20 01/06/2020 Sergey Nikolayevich RYABOV Kopayeva Yuta Yuryevna Nizhniy Tagil Sverdlovsk Regional Court 22/10/2019   7,500   28313/20 02/04/2020 Nikolay Viktorovich KOLESNIKOV Sergeyeva Yelizaveta Alekseyevna Tyumen Tsentralnyy District Court of Tyumen 19/11/2019   7,500   28510/20 13/05/2020 Sergey Mazitovich TUKTAGULOV Golubenko Andrey Yevgenyevich Nea Skiony Dzerzhinskiy District Court of Orenburg 18/05/2020   7,500   30230/20 16/06/2020 Roman Sergeyevich TARABUKIN Lyubimkin Sergey Ivanovich Nizhniy Novgorod Moscow City Court Video link from SIZO-4, Moscow 16/12/2019 Art. 3 - inadequate conditions of detention during transport - by van on numerous occasions between the detention facility and the courthouse from 13/06/2019 to 16/12/2019; 0.1 sq. m. of personal space; lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, lack of or insufficient electric light 8,500   31837/20 11/07/2020 Artur Ambartsumovich FALKIN Petrov Roman Nikolayevich Cheboksary Moskovskiy District Court of Cheboksary Supreme Court of the Chuvashia Republic Video link from IK-9, Chuvashia Republic 27/05/2020   7,500   41383/20 27/08/2020 Sergey Sergeyevich TITOV Isayev Ayndi Khamzatovich Krasnoyarsk Zheleznodorozhnyy District Court of Krasnoyarsk 27/02/2020   7,500   46827/20 06/10/2020 Yelena Valeryevna LYUTOROVICH Polonskiy Aleksandr Viktorovich Volgograd Voroshilovskiy District Court of Volgograd, Tsentralnyy District Court of Volgograd 23/09/2020     7,500   51427/20 06/11/2020 Roman Nikolayevich DARUSHIN Perevozchikov Andrey Vladimirovich Yaroslavl Uglichskiy District Court of the Yaroslavl Region 18/10/2020   7,500   53686/20 11/11/2020 Yuriy Vitalyevich ALNYKIN Isayev Ayndi Khamzatovich Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk Town Court 26/08/2020   7,500   53687/20 11/11/2020 Igor Viktorovich KOZHELENISTOV Isayev Ayndi Khamzatovich Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk Town Court 19/08/2020   7,500   53688/20 11/11/2020 Andrey Sergeyevich KOKIN Isayev Ayndi Khamzatovich Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk Town Court 18/08/2020   7,500   53689/20 11/11/2020 Roman Sergeyevich RUMYANTSEV Zhdanov Vladimir Viktorovich Krasnoyarsk Tsentralnyy District Court of Krasnoyarsk 12/08/2020   7,500   55614/20 24/11/2020 Nurali Saidaliyevich MUKHTOROV Isayev Ayndi Khamzatovich Krasnoyarsk Oktyabrskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk 29/07/2020   7,500   2242/21 24/11/2020 Maksim Sergeyevich SAMODELOV Suslova Irina Aleksandrovna Vyborg Krasnogvardeyskiy District Court of St Petersburg, St Petersburg City Court 08/06/2020   7,500   3457/21 07/12/2020 Aleksandr Yevgenyevich YEFIMOV Kuzminykh Konstantin Sergeyevich St Petersburg Vsevolzhsk Town Court of the Leningrad Region 25/06/2020   The finding of a violation constitutes sufficient just satisfaction.   52099/21 08/10/2021 Sergey Vasilyevich MALYGIN Krikun Leonid Leonidovich St Petersburg Segezha Town Court of Karelia Republic 09/07/2021   7,500     [1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.