CASE OF SOKIL v. UKRAINE
Violation of Article 3 - Prohibition of torture (Article 3 - Degrading treatment;Inhuman treatment) (Substantive aspect)
Aleš Pejchal;André Potocki;Ganna Yudkivska;Helena Jäderblom;Josep Casadevall;Síofra O’Leary;Vincent A. De Gaetano
5. The applicant was born in 1981. According to the most recently available information, in January 2014 the applicant was released from detention having served his sentence. He did not inform the Court of his current whereabouts. 6. According to the available medical documents, the applicant has been using drugs since 1996. In 1997 the applicant was diagnosed with hepatitis C and hepatic cirrhosis. The applicant has been HIV-positive since 2008. In 2008 he also had tuberculosis. 7. In March 2010 the applicant was taken into custody and placed in the Kyiv Pre-Trial Detention Centre (Київський слідчий ізолятор) (“the SIZO”). On 13 July 2010 the Obolonskyy District Court, Kyiv, sentenced the applicant to five years’ imprisonment for drug-related offences and theft. On 4 September 2010 the applicant was transferred to serve his sentence in the Bilotserkivska Correctional Colony No. 35. In May 2011 the applicant was diagnosed HIV-positive at clinical stage 4. On 24 May 2011 the applicant’s CD4+ cell count was 687 (16.3%). On 7 July 2011 the Irpinskyy Town Court released him from serving the remainder of his sentence in view of his poor state of health. 8. On 25 July 2011 the applicant was registered for regular medical checks at the Kyiv City Aids Centre. 9. On 1 February 2012 the Dniprovskyy District Court sentenced the applicant to four years’ imprisonment for theft. 10. On 2 February 2012 the applicant was placed in the Kyiv SIZO. On arrival the applicant was examined by medical staff and had two chest Xrays. It was recommended that the applicant consult a tuberculosis specialist. 11. On 8 February 2012 the applicant was examined by a tuberculosis specialist and diagnosed with post-tuberculosis residual changes in the right lung. 12. On 16 or 20 March 2012 (relevant documents contain both dates) the applicant was placed in the SIZO medical ward. He stayed there until 18 February 2013 with the following diagnoses: acute haemorrhoidal bleeding, haemorrhoids, chronic multiple drug use, HIV at clinical stage 3, oropharyngeal candidiasis, chronic secondary candidiasis, acute enterocolitis, chronic hepatitis, residual post-tuberculosis changes, liver cell failure, and other conditions. The applicant was prescribed various medication. 13. According to the Government, the applicant was examined by doctors in the SIZO medical ward on numerous occasions. In particular, on 22 March 2012 the applicant was examined by a surgeon and was examined by a general practitioner on the following dates: on 11, 16, 21 and 25 May 2012 with complaints of fever and weakness; on 18 and 22 June 2012 with complaints of fever and weakness; on 16 July 2012 with complaints of coughing with sputum, sweating, general weakness and fever; on 1, 3, 10, 15, 23 and 28 August 2012; on 4 and 10 September 2012; on 4, 10, 15, 22 and 29 October 2012; on 5, 9, 16, 23 and 29 November 2012; and on 5, 11, 18, 24 and 27 December 2012. On the majority of those occasions it was decided to continue the prescribed treatment. 14. In addition to the above consultations, between March 2012 and 18 February 2013 the applicant received the following medical care: on 10 April 2012 the applicant had a chest X-ray and it was recommended that he see a tuberculosis specialist. Subsequently the applicant was examined and diagnosed with post-tuberculosis residual changes in the right lung. On 13 July 2012 he had another consultation with a tuberculosis specialist; on 24 October 2012 the applicant was examined by an infection diseases specialist and diagnosed, inter alia, with HIV at clinical stage 4. It was also suspected that the applicant had had a tuberculosis relapse, so an additional X-ray was recommended; on 7 November 2012 the applicant had an X-ray. On 14 November 2012 a tuberculosis specialist examined the applicant and concluded that there were no signs of active tuberculosis. 15. Between 18 April and 20 December 2012, according to the test results, the applicant’s CD4+ cell count dropped from 762 (18.4%) to 467 (14.3%). 16. Meanwhile, on 23 July 2012 the Kyiv City Court of Appeal quashed the decision of 1 February 2012 in the applicant’s criminal case and remitted the case for a fresh court examination. On 3 September 2012 the Dniprovskyy District Court, Kyiv, found the applicant guilty of drug-related offences and theft, and sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment. 17. On 14 January 2013 the applicant was examined in the Kyiv City Diagnostic Centre. Two days later the applicant was examined by a tuberculosis specialist and diagnosed with tuberculosis. The applicant was prescribed anti-tuberculosis treatment. 18. On 23 January 2013 the applicant’s CD4+ cell count was 314. 19. On 25 and 30 January and 4 February 2013 the applicant was examined by a general practitioner. The prescribed treatment was continued. 20. On 5 February 2013 the applicant requested under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court that the respondent Government be asked to secure an appropriate medical examination and treatment for him which, according to the applicant, was impossible in the Kyiv SIZO. On 7 February 2013 the Court refused the applicant’s request. 21. On 11 February 2013 it was recommended by a tuberculosis specialist that the applicant be transferred to a specialised tuberculosis hospital. 22. On 18 February 2013 the applicant was transferred to Zhovtnevska Correctional Colony No. 17 (Жовтневська виправна колонія №17). He arrived there on 21 February 2013 and was placed in a specialised tuberculosis hospital. Upon arrival the applicant complained of a cough with mucopurulent sputum, pain in the chest and armpits, headache, and abdominal pain and distension. It was concluded that the applicant’s state of health was of medium severity. He underwent various blood, urine and sputum tests, X-rays and ultrasound examinations. On 21 and 22 February 2013 the applicant was examined by an otolaryngologist, a psychiatrist and a general practitioner. The applicant was diagnosed with tuberculosis, HIV, encephalopathy, chronic hepatitis and other diseases. The applicant was prescribed anti-tuberculosis treatment. 23. The Government provided a detailed description of the examinations, prescriptions and treatment the applicant received in the hospital between February and October 2013. It included numerous X-rays, ultrasound examinations, blood, urine and sputum tests, examinations by hospital doctors and external specialists: a tuberculosis specialist (on 28 February 2013 and 15 August 2013), an otolaryngologist (on 26 March 2013: the applicant was diagnosed with otitis), a psychiatrist (on 22 February 2013: the applicant was diagnosed with opium narcotic addiction in remission); a dentist (3 April 2013), a general practitioner (on 13, 14, 19, 25 and 30 March 2013; on 1, 2, 3, 10, 12, 22, 26, 28 and 29 April 2013; on 7, 12 and 16 May 2013; on 1, 4, 15, 21 and 26 June 2013; and on 5, 8 and 17 July 2013); a surgeon (on 24 April 2013); a dermatologist (on 24 April 2013); an infectious diseases specialist from the Kharkiv Regional HIV/Aids Centre, who prescribed antiretroviral therapy (“ART”) for the applicant (22 July 2013); and a neuropathologist (on 13 August 2013). 24. On 3 May 2013 the applicant’s CD4+ cell count was 477 (15.7%). 25. On 21 August 2013 the applicant started the ART. 26. On 4 September 2013 the applicant’s CD4+ cell count was 297 (12.1%). 27. On 20 September 2013 a tuberculosis specialist from the Kharkiv Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education concluded that the applicant’s anti-tuberculosis treatment had been effective. 28. On 3 October 2013 the applicant was discharged from the hospital with the diagnosis of, inter alia, post-tuberculosis residual changes, HIV (clinical stage 4), chronic hepatitis in unstable remission, and chronic thrombophlebitis. The applicant was transferred to Buchanska Correctional Colony No. 85 (Бучанська виправна колонія №85) since his state of health had improved. He was provided with ART medication for two months. 29. According to the parties, while in the hospital the applicant also received various medication from his relatives. 30. The applicant spent the majority of the time between 1 November and 30 December 2013 in the Buchanska Correctional Colony Hospital. On 23 December 2013 the applicant’s CD4+ cell count was 314 (14.8%). 31. On 31 January 2014 the applicant was released, having served his sentence.