6.  The applicants were born in 1979 and live in Ivanovo. 7.  On 1 February 1998 criminal proceedings were brought against the applicants on suspicion that they had beaten up and robbed a passer-by. On 4 February 1998 their detention pending trial was ordered. 8.  By a final judgment of the Ivanovo Regional Court of 18 June 1998 the applicants were convicted of aggravated robbery and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment. On 3 December 1999 the judgment was quashed and the case remitted to the police for a fresh investigation. The fresh examination of the case ended with the applicants’ being convicted of aggravated robbery by the Regional Court’s judgment of 4 May 2000, which was varied by the same court on 23 March 2001 by reclassifying the applicants’ actions as affray and theft. The applicants were released from prison in 2001 and 2002. 9.  Mr Korobov and Mr Savelyev were held in pre-trial detention facility IZ-37/1 in Ivanovo in seven different cells from 4 February to 14 July 1998, from 14 December 1999 to 23 May 2000 and from 3 to 5 April 2001. Mr Tsyplov was kept in the same detention facility in six different cells from 4 February to 13 July 1998 and from 28 December 1999 to 23 May 2000. 10.  According to the applicants, they were kept in cells measuring 20 to 25 sq. m, in which 32 inmates were held at the same time. According to Mr Savelyev, he was also held in cells measuring 15 and 19 sq. m which had 10 and 12 beds and held 24 and 27 detainees respectively. It follows from the applicants’ information that there was 0.6 to 0.7 sq. m per person in their cells. 11.  According to the Government, the number of detainees was equal to the number of beds. It therefore follows from the Government’s detailed information on the surface area and the number of beds in each cell that there was from 1 to 2.2 sq. m per person in the applicants’ cells at any given time. 12.  According to the applicants, the cells had no proper ventilation. Being surrounded by heavy smokers, Mr Korobov, who did not smoke, was forced to become a passive smoker. The windows had no glass on them and in winter the prisoners had to cover them with blankets. It was very cold in winter and stuffy in summer. The floor was concrete. The toilet was not separated from the rest of the area and the detainees themselves had to partition it off with a curtain. There was fungus in the cells. They were infested with cockroaches, bugs and lice. No bedding was provided and the applicants had to obtain it from their families. The food was of poor quality. 13.  According to the Government, the minimum duration of the detainees’ daily exercise outside their cells was one hour. They could have a shower once a week and were given individual bedding, though between 1998 and 2000, owing to a shortage of funds, they were allowed to obtain missing items of bedding from their families. Ventilation, lighting and heating complied with the relevant standards. In winter the heating was sometimes cut off for short periods, not exceeding twelve hours, owing to malfunctioning of the municipal heating system. The cells were cleaned daily and disinfected weekly. All the inmates underwent a medical examination on arrival. There were no complaints about insects in the cells at the material time. The toilet in each cell was separated by a brick partition between 1.2 and 1.8 m high. It was not completely separated, in order to prevent suicides and sexual offences. The windows in the cells had glass in them. Between 1998 and 2000 the windows were fitted on the outside with shutters made of steel plates welded at an angle of forty-five degrees to ensure sound and visual insulation. On the inside they were fitted with steel bars. In January and February 2003 the shutters were removed throughout the detention facility. 14.  According to Mr Korobov, he was disciplined by the prison authorities and placed for seven days in a punishment cell in February 2000. The temperature outside was about minus 27 to minus 30oC and the cell was not heated. It measured 1.5 by 5 metres and was poorly lit. The floor was concrete. A pail, emptied once a day, served as a toilet. The bench was fastened to the wall during the day, so that he could neither lie nor sit. The applicant fell ill with a cold and had a fever. No medical treatment was provided despite his requests. 15.  According to the Government, it was impossible to establish whether the applicant had indeed been placed in a punishment cell, as the relevant records had been destroyed on expiry of the three-year statutory storage period. All the punishment cells in the detention facility had central heating, water supply and a sewerage system. The temperature was no lower than 18oC. The cells measured 5.4 sq. m. The walls and the floor were concrete. A metal bunk bed with a wooden cover was lifted and locked to the wall for the period between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Bedding was provided for the night’s sleep. According to the relevant medical records, Mr Korobov did not request any medical treatment in February 2000. Under the relevant legislation, detainees were placed in punishment cells on the basis of an order from the prison governor and an opinion from a prison medical officer. Compliance with the legislation was supervised by the prosecutor’s office.