CASE OF ARVANITIS AND OTHERS v. GREECE
Violation of Article 3 - Prohibition of torture (Article 3 - Degrading treatment) (Substantive aspect);Violation of Article 13+3 - Right to an effective remedy (Article 13 - Effective remedy) (Article 3 - Prohibition of torture;Degrading treatment)
Aleš Pejchal;Ledi Bianku;Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos
4. The applicants were placed in Menemeni police station in Thessaloniki, either in pre-trial detention or serving prison sentences. Applicants nos. 1 and 6 were detained in cell no. 1, applicants nos. 2 and 4 were detained in cell no. 2 and applicants nos. 3, 5 and 7 were detained in cell no. 3. At the time they submitted their application they had been detained for periods ranging from one to six months. 5. The first six applicants were transferred to Thessaloniki General Detention Facility on the following dates: applicant no. 2 was transferred on 30 November 2013, applicant no. 3 was transferred on 6 December 2013, applicant no. 4 was transferred on 11 February 2014, applicant no. 5 was transferred on 7 February 2014 and applicant no. 6 was transferred on 18 November 2013. The parties disputed the date on which applicant no. 1 was transferred: according to the Government’s submissions, he was transferred on 18 September 2013, whereas the applicant argued that he was transferred on 3 December 2013. According to the material in the Court’s possession, applicant no. 7 was still being detained in Menemeni police station on 24 May 2014. 6. The applicants alleged that Menemeni police station had been entirely inappropriate for long periods of detention, as in their cases. It had consisted of three cells on the first floor and two sanitary facilities situated outside the cells. Cells nos. 1 and 2 had measured 10 square metres and had accommodated four detainees each, while cell no. 3 had measured 6 square metres and had accommodated five detainees. The cells had been equipped with beds but had no blankets. The applicants further stressed that the cells had been filthy and that there had been inadequate access to natural light. Cell no. 1, in particular, had not had a window. 7. Detainees had been confined to their cells and had not been allowed to spend time outside, which had affected their psychological health. They had had to ask permission from the guards to use the restroom. Recreational activities had not been offered and cells had not been equipped with televisions. 8. Healthy detainees had been held together with drug users or sick detainees, resulting in their exposure to contagious diseases. The police station had not had the necessary means to transfer detainees to a hospital in case of emergency. 9. Instead of food, detainees had been offered 5.87 euros per day, which had not sufficed to cover their daily dietary needs, either in terms of quantity or quality. 10. On 19 November 2013 the applicants had lodged a complaint with the public prosecutor, complaining of the conditions of their detention but had not received a reply. 11. The Government submitted that Menemeni police station had been housed in a building constructed in 2008 on the basis of quality specifications necessary to ensure proper conditions of detention. It had consisted of three cells: cell no. 1 had measured 23 square metres and had three built-in beds, cell no. 2 had measured 23.3 square metres with four built-in beds and cell no. 3 had measured 26 square metres with five beds. The capacity of the police station had never been exceeded. 12. The Government affirmed that there had been two sanitary facilities with hot water outside the cells. They submitted two contracts with cleaning companies for the building for the periods in question: one from 10 June 2013 to 10 August 2013 and the other from 11 August 2013 to 11 October 2013. The contracts included cleaning the detention areas and the sanitary facilities every day and disinfecting the detention areas once a week. 13. When the number of detainees had allowed it, drug addicts had been detained separately from the rest of the detainees. In addition, the staff at Menemeni police station had made every possible effort to accommodate detainees’ needs by painting the facilities often, cleaning or replacing the bedding and by resolving any problem in general that might have risen. 14. Regarding recreational activities, the Government stressed that detainees had had unlimited access to telephone cards and that it had been standard practice for them to receive newspapers and magazines. 15. The Government confirmed that the applicants had not been provided with meals but had received 5.87 euros a day to order food from restaurants, given that police stations did not have any cooking facilities. 16. An on-call doctor had been available on a 24-hour basis in Thessaloniki Police Headquarters (Αστυνομικό Μέγαρο Θεσσαλονίκης). In urgent cases, inmates had been transferred to local hospitals. Additionally, police staff had been responsible for administering prescribed medications to detainees, as ordered by a doctor. 17. The Government pointed out that the applicants had not referred to or adduced any evidence that they had needed medical treatment which they had not received. On the contrary, according to the police station’s records, applicants nos. 4, 5 and 7 had been taken to local hospitals on various occasions.