CASE OF NOVAK v. CROATIA
No violation of Art. 3
Christos Rozakis
4. The applicant was born in 1968 and lives in Ludbreg. 5. Following a conviction for a dangerous activity, the applicant was incarcerated in Lepoglava State Prison during an unspecified period in 1999 and 2000. 6. In a judgment of 4 July 2002 the Zagreb Municipal Court convicted the applicant of fraud and gave him a suspended sentence of ten months' imprisonment. In addition, it ordered him to undergo compulsory psychiatric treatment as he had been diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It appears that the suspension of the sentence was lifted because the applicant was again sent to Lepoglava State Prison from 17 May 2002 until 17 April 2003. 7. In a judgment of 17 February 2003 the Varaždin Municipal Court convicted the applicant of fraud and gave him a suspended sentence of ten months' imprisonment. However, on an appeal by the State Attorney, on 24 September 2003 the Varaždin County Court altered the sentence to six months' unconditional imprisonment. 8. On 18 December 2003 a judge of the Varaždin County Court with responsibility for the execution of sentences ordered the applicant to start serving his prison sentence in Varaždin Prison on 28 January 2004. The applicant applied for the order to be postponed on account of his PTSD condition. On 12 January 2004 a Varaždin County Court judge responsible for the execution of sentences dismissed the application because the applicant had failed to submit medical documentation concerning his condition. 9. The applicant appealed against that decision and on 22 January 2004 the Varaždin County Court dismissed his appeal. It found, firstly, that the medical documentation subsequently submitted by the applicant was outdated since it originated from 1991, 1998 and 2001, and, secondly, that during his prison term the applicant would be provided with adequate medical care. 10. The applicant started to serve his sentence on 26 February 2004 in Varaždin Prison. He was placed in cell no. 8, measuring four by five metres, with thirteen beds. The number of inmates ranged from fifteen to twenty, so that some inmates had to sleep on the floor or on the table. The table in the cell was designed to accommodate four persons, so that the inmates had to eat on the beds or on the floor. There was one window in the cell, covered with wire so that light and air hardly reached the cell. 11. On 11 March 2004 the applicant was removed from cell no. 8 and placed in cell no. 5, measuring 21.87 square metres, which he shared with four other inmates. 12. The applicant's correspondence with the Court was opened. 13. The medical documentation presented by the applicant shows that he was examined on 26 February 2004 by the prison physician, who found that the applicant had suffered from PTSD since 1995 and also from a personality disorder. The prison doctor prescribed medication, a drug called Fluval. 14. On 15 March 2004 the applicant was transferred to Zagreb Prison Hospital but was sent back to Varaždin Prison the same day because the psychiatrist at the hospital found no reason to keep him there. The applicant's treatment was changed to drugs named Amyzol and Xanax. On 16 March 2004 the applicant complained that the drugs prescribed were “too heavy”. On 17 March 2004 the medication prescribed to the applicant was again changed to Fluval. No psychiatric treatment was provided. 15. On 8 March 2004 the applicant applied for a transfer to another prison or the immediate termination of his prison sentence on account of the lack of adequate treatment for PTSD in Varaždin Prison. He further complained about the overcrowded conditions in the cell where he was being held. On 19 March 2004 a Varaždin County Court judge responsible for execution of sentences dismissed the application, finding that the applicant was not in need of any additional treatment. However, as to the overcrowded conditions, the judge found: “... the prisoner's allegations concerning the number of inmates placed in one cell are true. However, such placement of prisoners is due to the considerable fluctuation in their number because persons sentenced to up to six months' imprisonment serve their sentences in [Varaždin] Prison. The Varaždin Prison authorities shall remove the said insufficiencies so as to afford enough space to inmates ...” 16. The applicant appealed against that decision, but his appeal was dismissed by a three-judge panel of the same court on 30 March 2004. 17. On an unspecified date the applicant filed an application for early release from the prison because he had not received adequate treatment for PTSD. On 26 May 2004 the Varaždin County Court dismissed the application. 18. On an unspecified date the applicant contacted the Croatian Helsinki Committee to complain about the inhuman conditions in Varaždin Prison, alleging that he was being held in a cell measuring 4 by 5 metres with thirteen beds and that the number of inmates in the cell surpassed the number of beds. He alleged that such cramped conditions had had an adverse effect on his health since he was suffering from PTSD. Furthermore, he complained that there was insufficient daylight in the cell. 19. In a letter of 17 June 2004 the Committee informed the Department for the Enforcement of Sanctions (Uprava za izvršenje sankcija) about the applicant's allegations and sought an answer from it. On 6 July 2004 the Prison Administration of the Ministry of Justice (Uprava za zatvorski sustav Ministartsva pravosuđa) answered the Committee's enquiry. As to the applicant's health condition, it was stated that he had been diagnosed with PTSD and therefore sent to the psychiatric ward of Zagreb Prison Hospital on 15 March 2004. However, a psychiatrist from that hospital had found that there had been no indications requiring the applicant's hospitalisation. Furthermore, the applicant himself had asked not to be kept in the hospital. During his detention in Varaždin Prison he had been administered drugs. As to the applicant's allegations about the inhuman conditions in his cell, it was stated that the conditions of the execution of his sentence complied with the standards prescribed in Part XI of the Enforcement of Prison Sentences Act and that each cell had access to daylight. 20. In a decision of 12 July 2004 the Varaždin Prison Administration released the applicant on licence. His licence expired on 26 August 2004. 21. The CPT visited Croatia between 20 and 30 September 1998. Its findings with regard to Zagreb Prison Hospital were as follows (extract from the report to the Croatian Government on the visit to Croatia from 20 to 30 September 1998, CPT/Inf. (2001) 4): “157. ... However, occupancy rates in the psychiatric ward were rather high, a drawback which was exacerbated by the fact that patients tended to spend most of the day in their rooms... In all wards, the general atmosphere in the patients' rooms was rather drab; efforts should be made to provide a more positive therapeutic environment. The practice observed in the hospital of having patients wear pyjamas/nightgowns continuously should also be reviewed. As regards, in particular, psychiatric patients, this practice is not conducive to strengthening personal identity and self-esteem; individualisation of clothing should form part of the therapeutic process. ... 159. ... The delegation was less impressed by the quality of psychiatric treatment, which was limited essentially to pharmacotherapy (though there were no indications of the misuse of medication). The hospital's doctors acknowledged that there was a clear need to develop rehabilitative and other therapeutic activities (occupational therapy, group therapy, individual psychotherapy, etc.) for the establishment's psychiatric patients; however, they commented that limited staff resources and the very nature of the establishment hindered progress in this area. 160. The CPT recommends that serious efforts be made to develop rehabilitative and other therapeutic activities for psychiatric patients at the hospital; the present state of affairs is untenable from a therapeutic standpoint. ...” 22. Article 23 of the Croatian Constitution (Ustav Republike Hrvatske) provides as follows: “No one shall be subjected to any form of ill-treatment...” 23. The Enforcement of Prison Sentences Act (Zakon o izvršavanju kazne zatvora, Official Gazette no. 128/1999 of 30 November 1999, and no. 190/2003 of 3 December 2003 (consolidated text) – “the Act”) came into force on 1 July 2001, whereas the provisions concerning the judge responsible for the execution of sentences came into force six months later, on 1 January 2002. The relevant provisions of the Act read as follows: “(1) Inmates shall have the right to complain against an act or decision of a prison employee. (2) Complaints shall be lodged orally or in writing with a prison governor, a judge responsible for the execution of sentences or the Head Office of the Prison Administration. Written complaints addressed to a judge responsible for the execution of sentences or the Head Office of the Prison Administration shall be submitted in an envelope which the prison authorities may not open...” “(1) An inmate may file a request for judicial protection against any acts or decisions unlawfully denying him, or limiting him in, any of the rights guaranteed by this Act. (2) Requests for judicial protection shall be decided by the judge responsible for the execution of sentences.” “(1) The accommodation of inmates shall meet the required standards in terms of health, hygiene and space, including climatic conditions. (2) Inmates shall as a general rule be accommodated in separate rooms... (3) Inmates' rooms shall be clean, dry and of adequate size. Each inmate shall have at least 4 square metres and 10 cubic metres of space in the room. (4) Every room ... must have daylight and artificial light... (5) Penitentiaries and prisons must be equipped with sanitary facilities allowing inmates to meet their physiological needs in clean and adequate conditions, whenever they wish to do so. (6) Inmates shall have drinking water at their disposal at all times.” “(1) Inmates shall be provided with medical treatment and regular care for their physical and mental health...” “(1) Inmates shall have the right to unlimited correspondence at their own expense. ... (4) Inmates shall have the right to correspond with their lawyer, the State authorities or international organisations for the protection of human rights without any restrictions or supervision of the content of such letters...” 24. Rule 13 of the Varaždin Prison House Rules (Kućni red za zatvorenike i kažnjenike Zatvora u Varaždinu) provided that letters addressed to lawyers, State authorities or international organisations for the protection of human rights were not to be opened by the prison authorities.