5.  The applicant was born in 1977 and is currently serving a life sentence in Plovdiv Prison. 6.  In the period from 29 December 2002 to 18 February 2009 the applicant was detained in Varna Prison in connection with several sets of criminal proceedings for theft and for murder committed in the course of aggravated robbery. In November 2004 he was sentenced to life imprisonment. 7.  On 18 February 2009 the applicant was moved to Plovdiv Prison. According to the applicant, he was initially placed in a cell together with a smoker. On 29 May 2009 he was placed in an individual cell. 2.  Civil actions for damages brought by the applicant
(a)  The first set of proceedings concerning the period from 25 February 2003 to 19 April 2004 8.  On 19 April 2004 the applicant brought an action against the Ministry of Justice. He claimed 50,000 levs (BGN) (25,565 euros (EUR)) in damages, alleging that he had suffered distress and humiliation as a result of the poor conditions in which he had been detained in Varna Prison in the period from 25 February 2003 to 19 April 2004. On 25 October 2004 the Varna District Court instructed the applicant to specify and quantify the damage sustained by him as a result of each alleged act or omission of the prison administration. This resulted in the applicant having to split his initial claim into five separate claims of BGN 10,000 (EUR 5,113) each, as follows: (1) for poor sanitary conditions in the prison; (2) for the lack of opportunity to maintain his personal hygiene on a daily basis; (3) for poor living conditions in the cell; (4) for food of poor quality and insufficient quantity; and (5) for inadequate medical services. 9.  The District Court questioned several witnesses, gathered written evidence and on 19 January 2007 partly granted the first claim. It established that the applicant had been allowed to leave his cell three times a day for forty-five minutes each time and had had to use a bucket in the cell for his toilet needs outside these periods, in front of other prisoners, which had been upsetting for him. It found that the amount of BGN 100 (EUR 51) would remedy the discomfort experienced by him. As to the remaining four claims, the court noted witnesses’ statements to the effect that there had been no running water in the applicant’s cell, that the cell had been damp and draughty, without a floor covering and with plaster peeling off the walls; the toilets and the canteen had been infested with rats; and the applicant had only been allowed to bathe once every two weeks. However, it held that it had not been proven that these deficiencies had caused any damage to the applicant. The court further considered irrelevant the fact that there had been rats in the toilets and in the canteen, as the applicant had not mentioned rats in his statement of claim. As to the claim concerning the medical services in prison, the District Court established that the applicant suffered from asthma and epilepsy. On the basis of his medical records, it found that he had been examined by a physician at least once a month and had been prescribed treatment. It further noted that on several occasions he had been urged to refrain from smoking but apparently he had not followed this advice. It therefore dismissed this claim as ill-founded. It also dismissed the claim concerning the quality and quantity of food, reasoning that the applicant had failed to adduce any arguments or evidence in this respect. 10.  Following an appeal, in a judgment of 20 July 2007 the Varna Regional Court increased the compensation under the applicant’s first claim to BGN 500 (EUR 255) and upheld the remaining part of the judgment of 19 January 2007. It held that while the witnesses had established that the applicant had been embarrassed by the use of the bucket for his sanitary needs, they had not said anything about his feelings towards the other conditions complained of. The applicant appealed further. 11.  In a final judgment of 27 April 2009 the Supreme Court of Cassation upheld the judgment of 20 July 2007. It noted that the applicant had failed to show that he had suffered any non-pecuniary damage in respect of the four claims dismissed by the lower courts.
(b)  The second set of proceedings concerning the period from 20 February 2005 to 15 September 2006 12.  In 2009 the applicant brought a further action against the Ministry of Justice, claiming a total of BGN 10,000 (EUR 5,113) in compensation for non-pecuniary damage in connection with the conditions of his detention in Varna Prison. For reasons which have not been substantiated, the claim only concerned the period from 20 February 2005 to 15 September 2006. 13.  The Varna Administrative Court heard several witnesses and on 9 December 2009 dismissed the applicant’s action. Its findings about the conditions in Varna Prison were similar to those made by the courts in the previous set of proceedings (see paragraph 9 above). Unlike those courts, however, the Varna Administrative Court held that continuous access to a toilet, running water, ventilation and sufficient natural light were to be provided only where possible. The court based its conclusion on statutory provisions concerning pre-trial detention facilities, finding that they were applicable by analogy to prisons. It further held that it was unproven whether the applicant suffered from any diseases or whether he had sustained any non-pecuniary damage as a result of the conditions in which he had been detained. 14.  Following an appeal, in a final judgment of 15 October 2010 the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the judgment of 9 December 2009, reasoning that the size of the applicant’s cell had met the legal requirements and that the applicant had not proved that he suffered from any diseases. 15.  The applicant submitted six letters and envelopes addressed by him to his lawyer. Half of them were sent from Varna Prison and the other half from Plovdiv Prison. Each envelope was marked or stamped as having been monitored by the prison administration. As noted in a letter from the administration of Plovdiv Prison submitted by the Government, the prison administration, acting in compliance with section 37 of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Enforcement of Sentences Act, routinely opened all envelopes, including those sent to lawyers, to check their physical contents, without reading the text of the letters therein. 16.  Shortly after his transfer to Plovdiv Prison in 2009, the applicant complained that he had not been allowed to contact his lawyer by phone. Following an inquiry, in a letter of 2 April 2009 the General Directorate of Enforcement of Sentences at the Ministry of Justice informed him that lawyers were not among the individuals whom prisoners were entitled to contact by phone under section 37a of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Enforcement of Sentences Act. It was further explained that the applicant had been sentenced to life imprisonment and was not involved in any pending proceedings. It appears that the applicant took steps to show that there were indeed criminal proceedings pending against him. Eventually, on 28 May 2009 the applicant’s lawyer was included in the list of individuals whom the applicant was allowed to contact by phone. 17.  On an unspecified date in 1999 the investigating authorities in Plovdiv opened an investigation into a number of car thefts. On 21 April 2000 the applicant was placed in pre-trial detention as a suspect. Later on he was charged and questioned. 18.  On 16 February 2001 the Plovdiv district public prosecutor’s office filed an indictment against the applicant and three other individuals with the Plovdiv District Court. 19.  The District Court scheduled fifteen hearings in the case. Three hearings were postponed because of the applicant’s absence, which caused a delay of about six months; six hearings were adjourned because of the failure of court-appointed experts to appear or for additional expert reports to be obtained; two hearings were postponed because of the failure of one or more of the applicant’s co-defendants, or their lawyers, to appear; and three hearings were adjourned due to the absence of the judge or a juror. In the examination of the case, the court admitted six expert reports and questioned at least thirteen witnesses. 20.  In a judgment of 9 December 2003 the District Court convicted the applicant of a number of counts of car theft in complicity with others. 21.  Following an appeal, the Plovdiv Regional Court conducted four hearings and questioned several witnesses. One hearing was adjourned because of the non-appearance of a witness, and the other two hearings were adjourned because two of the applicant’s co-defendants were sick. 22.  On 3 June 2005 the Regional Court quashed the judgment of 9 December 2003 because of insufficient and contradictory reasoning, and remitted the case. 23.  The District Court scheduled ten hearings. Three hearings were adjourned because the judge was on maternity leave, another one, because she had been promoted to a higher court; one hearing was postponed because it was necessary to appoint a State-appointed lawyer for the applicant; and three hearings were adjourned because part of the physical evidence was missing. On 20 December 2007, more than two years after the beginning of the second trial, the District Court terminated the court proceedings and remitted the case to the investigative authorities because it had discovered procedural violations at the pre-trial stage. 24.  On 21 February 2008 the district public prosecutor’s office terminated the criminal proceedings against the applicant. On 24 September 2008 the Plovdiv regional public prosecutor’s office quashed the decree of 21 February 2008 and remitted the case for further investigation. On 23 January 2009 the applicant was charged anew and questioned. 25.  In a decree of 6 April 2009 the district public prosecutor’s office again terminated the criminal proceedings against the applicant for lack of proof. It appears that the decree was not appealed against and it became final.