5.  The applicant was born in 1966 and lives in Poznań. 6.  He is a recidivist offender. He served a number prison sentences in various detention establishments in Poland. 7.  Since 1996 the applicant has been suffering from epilepsy marked by frequent (daily) seizures and encephalopathy accompanied by dementia. He also suffers from ulcers and syphilis. He has been classified by the social security authorities as a person with a “first-degree disability making him completely unfit to work” (pierwszy stopień inwalidztwa całkowicie niezdolny do pracy). 8.  On 7 November 2000 the Białystok District Court (Sąd Rejonowy) appointed neurology and forensic medicine experts to produce a report on the applicant’s health in connection with a criminal case pending at that time against him. The experts examined the applicant’s medical records and the preceding psychological and forensic medicine reports. The extracts from these documents revealed that since 1996 the applicant had been suffering from epilepsy accompanied by very frequent seizures and from a personality disorder. He had made several suicide attempts. During one medical interview, the applicant had stated that he could not obtain the necessary medical treatment in prison and that his cellmates ignored his epileptic fits. The doctors, who had examined the applicant in the past, agreed that he could remain in prison provided that he received specialised psychiatric treatment on a permanent basis. 9.  On 11 July 2001 the Białystok District Court appointed new medical experts to draft a report on the applicant’s health. The experts found that the penitentiary medical care system could no longer offer the applicant the necessary treatment. They emphasised that his continuous incarceration might put his health and life at risk. It was further indicated that the applicant should obtain a more detailed diagnosis from a specialised clinic and, perhaps, undergo brain surgery. 10.  It appears that the applicant was first remanded in custody on 30 May 1998. 11.  From 13 April 1999 until 23 June 1999 and from 20 July 1999 until 4 January 2000 he was detained in Poznań Remand Centre. 12.  It appears that in 2000 he was admitted for several days to an unspecified prison hospital. 13.  On 10 January 2001 the applicant was committed to Gdańsk Remand Centre where he received medical treatment in the neurology ward. Doctors emphasised the need to provide the applicant with permanent specialised medical care and to ensure his constant supervision by another person. 14.  On 5 April 2001 he was transferred to Białystok Remand Centre. 15.  On 3 August 2001 the applicant was released home. 16.  On 17 September 2001 he was again remanded in custody in connection with a new criminal case against him. From that day until 30 October 2001 he was detained in Poznań Remand Centre. 17.  On 28 February 2002 he was granted conditional release from prison. 18.  On 5 September 2002 the applicant was once more remanded in custody. He was committed to an unspecified detention facility. 19.  From 28 April until 5 August 2003 the applicant was at liberty. 20.  On 5 August 2003 the applicant was again remanded in custody. From that day until 30 November 2007 he was in continuous detention either in ordinary detention facilities or in prison hospitals. 21.  During that time he was detained in Poznań Remand Centre during four separate periods: (1) from 5 until 27 August 2003; (2) from 18 May until 12 July 2005; (3) from 5 January 2006 until an unspecified date, presumably 20 March 2006; and (4) from 9 May until 30 November 2007. 22.  It appears that apart from Poznań Remand Centre the applicant was detained in the following facilities: from 28 August 2003 until 21 April 2004 in Wrocław Prison; from 22 April 2004 until an unspecified date in Białystok Remand Centre; subsequently in Śrem, Białołęka, Radom and Jelenia Góra Remand Centres; from 19 September until 19 October 2004 in the Szczecin Remand Centre hospital and immediately afterwards in Stargard Szczeciński Prison; from an unspecified date in January 2005 in Bydgoszcz Remand Centre; from 10 January until 4 April 2005 in the Gdańsk Remand Centre hospital; from 12 July until 4 October 2005 in Wronki Prison; from 4 October 2005 until 5 January 2006 in the Gdańsk Remand Centre hospital; from 20 March until 19 April 2006 in the Bydgoszcz Remand Centre hospital; from 29 June 2006 until 9 May 2007 in the Czarne Prison hospital. 23.  The applicant submitted that in Poznań Remand Centre he was committed to a general and not medical wing. He had shared his cells with healthy prisoners, who, as he submitted, had ignored his epileptic fits and had not offered him any help in his daily routines. The applicant also submitted that he had been humiliated in front of his fellow inmates because, as a result of his seizures, he had often lost consciousness and had wet himself. 24.  On 1 December 2007 the applicant was released and he is currently at liberty. 25.  From 19 September until 19 October 2004 the applicant was detained at the internal disease ward of the Szczecin Prison hospital. He was administered Gabitril as a main drug in his treatment. 26.  From 10 January until 4 April 2005 he was detained in the neurology ward of the Gdańsk Remand Centre hospital. He was prescribed Gabitril and Neurotrop as the main drugs in his treatment and it was suggested that he should regularly undergo neurological examinations. 27.  From 18 May until 12 July 2005, during his detention in Poznań Remand Centre, the applicant was examined twice by a neurologist and sixteen times by the remand centre’s in-house doctor.
In addition, from 24 June until 12 July 2005 he was placed under medical observation in the Poznań Remand Centre hospital. At the hospital new generic drugs were administered to the applicant in place of Gabitril, which was an expensive medicine. 28.  From 4 October 2005 until 5 January 2006 the applicant was once more admitted to the neurology ward of the Gdańsk Remand Centre hospital, where he resumed taking Gabitril. 29.  From 20 March until 19 April 2006 he was detained in the surgery ward of the Bydgoszcz Remand Centre hospital because he had developed gallstones. 30.  From 29 June 2006 until 9 May 2007 the applicant was detained in Czarne Prison hospital, where he was admitted to the ward for the chronically ill. Gabitril was administered to him during this time.
On his release from the hospital, the doctors considered the applicant to be in a good overall shape and self-sufficient. It was recommended that he be assigned a bottom bunk bed, be put on a diet and continue the pharmacological treatment prescribed, comprising Gabitril. It was also stressed that the applicant be placed under 24-hour medical supervision. 31.  Between 9 May and 30 November 2007, when the applicant was detained in Poznań Remand Centre, he continued taking Gabitril. It appears that he was examined eighteen times by the remand centre’s in-house doctors. 32.  Copies of medical records furnished by the applicant reveal that towards the end of 2007 his epilepsy was still severe, although, his epileptic seizures were less frequent. Moreover, his personality disorder continued to manifest itself in that the applicant sometimes experienced hallucinations. Most of the time, however, he was suffering from serious dementia.
The Government did not submit any medical documents or information regarding the applicant’s health condition or his treatment. 33.  On 27 February 2004 a new report was drafted by experts in psychology, psychiatry and neurology, who had been appointed by the Poznań Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy) in the course of social security proceedings for a disability benefit. The experts found that the applicant was suffering from epileptic seizures a number of times per week, sometimes even several times per day. He had also been diagnosed with encephalopathy accompanied by dementia, and also with ulcers and syphilis. The experts concluded that, even though the applicant could at that time perform basic daily activities such as washing, dressing, eating and the toilet without help, he was nevertheless too handicapped to act autonomously in making decisions or in undertaking more demanding daily routines. The experts were of the opinion that the applicant was incapable of being self-reliant and that he required, at least for the time being, direct and permanent care from another person. 34.  On 31 May, 28 June and 6 July 2005 the applicant lodged with the penitentiary administration complaints about his medical treatment in prison. He claimed that he had only received information stating that his complaints had been referred to the “competent authorities” (do właściwych organów). In the Government’s submission, all three complaints had been examined by competent authorities, including the Chief Doctor of the Regional Inspectorate of the Prison Service (Naczelny Lekarz Okręgowego Inspektoratu Służby Więziennej) and considered ill-founded. 35.  On 11 August 2005 the applicant complained to the Regional Inspectorate of the Prison Service that he had been prescribed Polish generic medicine in place of Gabitril, a more effective drug. That complaint was considered ill-founded because at the time when his medicines had been changed the applicant had been under close medical supervision at the prison hospital and his health had not deteriorated.