5.  The applicant, who is of Roma ethnic origin, was born in 1969 and is currently detained in Jilava Prison. 6.  On 11 February 2002 he was placed in detention in Arad Prison. On 12 October 2007 the Bucharest County Court convicted him of drug trafficking and sentenced him to twelve years and three months’ imprisonment. 7.  At a medical examination upon his initial placement in Arad Prison on 11 February 2002, the applicant was found to be a heroin addict suffering from sequels of tuberculosis and psychopathic tendencies. 8.  On 8 August 2006 on a transfer to Gherla Prison he was diagnosed with arterial hypertension, coronary heart disease and dyslipidaemia. 9.  On 30 March 2009 the applicant asked the Bucharest District Court to suspend his sentence for medical reasons. He alleged that his heart condition required surgery which could not be performed within the prison health system. He further submitted that any delays in receiving the appropriate treatment for his condition would put his life at risk. 10.  Following an order by the court, in April 2009 the applicant underwent a coronary angiography (X-ray of the heart’s arteries) and was seen by specialist doctors. According to the forensic medical report drafted by the Bucharest Institute of Forensic Medicine on that occasion, the illnesses he was suffering from included coronary heart disease, effort angina, a severe coronary lesion (80%-90%) and severe high blood pressure with an increased risk level. He was recommended bypass surgery in a public hospital, since it was considered that the hospitals within the prison system were not adequately equipped for such an operation. 11.  By a letter of 17 September 2009 the authorities of the Giurgiu Prison, where the applicant was detained at the time, informed the court that the prison was capable of ensuring the security measures necessary for his admission to a public hospital for the recommended operation, therefore there was no need to suspend his sentence for that purpose. 12.  On the basis of the above, on 1 October 2009 the Bucharest District Court rejected the applicant’s request to have his prison sentence suspended. 13.  On 2 November 2009 the Bucharest County Court allowed an appeal on points of law (recurs) lodged by him against that decision. The County Court held that the first-instance court had correctly decided that the prison authorities could ensure the necessary security measures to take the applicant out of prison and admit him to a public hospital. However, precise details on this needed to be set out in the operative provisions of the judgment. Accordingly, the Bucharest County Court ordered his admission, under escort, to a cardiovascular centre run by the Ministry of Health to receive the necessary treatment. The judgment became final. 14.  Between 22 October and 23 November 2009 the applicant was admitted to the cardiology ward of Jilava Prison Hospital. The doctors there recommended his transfer to Rahova Prison Hospital with a view to his admission to a public cardiovascular clinic run by the Ministry of Health. 15.  Between 23 November and 3 December 2009 the applicant was hospitalised in Rahova Prison Hospital. According to the hospital’s assessment and treatment plan, he was recommended a cardiovascular examination at the Central Military Hospital (a public hospital in the Ministry of Health’s network) on 26 November 2009. According to the same document, on 27 November 2009 he was examined by a cardiology doctor, who established that he could not be operated on at that time. On the stamp appearing next to these remarks the doctor’s name was not visible, and the hospital where he was practising was not indicated. 16.  On three occasions between March and September 2010 the applicant was seen by the prison doctor or admitted to prison hospitals for several days. 17.  Between 7 and 28 October 2010 he was admitted to Rahova Prison Hospital for a new assessment of his heart condition. Open-heart surgery was recommended to him without delay, bearing in mind the length of time he had been suffering from heart problems. On 24 October 2010 he made a written statement which, in its relevant part, read as follows:
“I was informed that the “open-heart” surgery I am about to undergo is very difficult ..., that is why I do not wish to undergo the open-heart surgery in the A.N.P. [prison] system ... because I fear for the worst and consider that it would be better to have this operation, which my life depends on, once my sentence has been suspended on medical grounds or once I have been released...” 18.  On 4 June 2010 the applicant again asked the Bucharest District Court to suspend his prison sentence. He complained that the prison authorities had refused to enforce the final judgment of 2 November 2009 ordering his admission to a public hospital. He also alleged that he had first been diagnosed with heart problems in 2006. Subsequently, his condition had worsened every year and the prison authorities had failed to provide him with the appropriate treatment and to follow the specialist doctor’s recommendation to admit him to a public hospital for treatment and surgery. He submitted that the only way for him to have the bypass operation in a public hospital would be by having his sentence suspended. 19.  On 3 August 2010 the Bucharest District Court struck out the applicant’s action as res judicata, since the matter had already been decided with final effect by the Bucharest County Court on 2 November 2009. 20.  On 16 September 2010 the Bucharest County Court allowed his appeal on points of law and sent the case back to the first-instance court for re-trial, since the principle of res judicata did not apply to requests to have prison sentences suspended on health grounds. 21.  In charge of the re-trial of the case, the Bucharest District Court ordered a new forensic expert report. The report submitted to the court on 11 March 2011 concluded that the applicant suffered from chronic coronary heart disease with effort angina and a 80%-90% coronary lesion, essential high blood pressure (stage I), chronic obstructive bronchopneumopathy (stage II) and persistent hepatitis C. The report further mentioned that, according to an examination carried out on 25 January 2011 by a cardiology doctor at the C.C. Iliescu Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, a new coronary angiography was necessary. The cardiology doctor had concluded that the applicant’s heart condition might benefit from surgical correction, to be performed in a specialist clinic, if this was found to be necessary following a new coronary angiography. 22.  On 22 March 2011 the Bucharest District Court rejected the applicant’s action, holding that the prison health system had the ability to ensure that he underwent the recommended coronary angiography and received the appropriate medication for all his conditions. The court based its reasoning on the conclusions of the new forensic report and on the fact that on 24 October 2010 he had allegedly “refused to undergo surgery under escort”. 23.  The applicant appealed on points of law against this judgment, emphasising that he had not refused to undergo surgery under security in a public hospital. 24.  On 3 May 2011 the Bucharest County Court dismissed the appeal on points of law with final effect. It took into account the fact that the most recent forensic report drawn up in the applicant’s case concluded that his heart condition might benefit from surgical correction, to be performed in a specialist public clinic, if this was found to be necessary following a new coronary angiography. However, since the coronary angiography and treatment with medication could be ensured within the prison health system, and the applicant had not been recommended urgent surgery, the court concluded that the legal requirements for suspending his prison sentence had not been met. 25.  In the course of 2011 the applicant was seen by the prison doctor on several occasions. On 27 July 2011 he was prescribed medication for his heart condition by a cardiology doctor at the ambulatory care clinic of Dej Prison Hospital. 26.  Between 21 September and 12 October 2011 he was admitted to Dej Prison Hospital, where he was subjected to blood tests and lung and knee X-rays and was diagnosed, in addition to his other conditions, with gonarthrosis (chronic wear) of the left knee. He was released with the recommendation that he follow a special diet, stop smoking, take medication for high blood pressure, his lungs and hepatitis and undergo regular examinations of his heart. 27.  Between 8 and 14 June 2012 he was admitted to Bucharest Prison Hospital because of chest pains and breathing difficulties. He was diagnosed in particular with left ventricular failure, as having previously suffered a heart attack, coronary lesions (discovered in 2009), moderate ischemic mitral failure and arterial hypertension. 28.  To date the applicant has not undergone a new coronary angiography as recommended by the specialist doctor on 25 January 2011.