CASE OF MOROZOV v. RUSSIA
Violation of Article 13 - Right to an effective remedy (Article 13 - Effective remedy);Violation of Article 3 - Prohibition of torture (Article 3 - Degrading treatment;Inhuman treatment) (Substantive aspect)
András Sajó;Dmitry Dedov;Erik Møse;Julia Laffranque;Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos;Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska;Paulo Pinto De Albuquerque
5. The applicant was born in 1969 and lives in Morozovsk in the Rostov Region. 6. On 7 July 2004 the applicant was arrested and placed in a temporary detention centre at the Morozovsk police station («Изолятор временного содержания», «ИВС», “IVS”) on suspicion of murder. 7. The applicant was detained in the IVS on four separate occasions: between 7 and 24 July 2004; 17 August and 8 October 2004; 24 October and 16 November 2004; and 4 and 16 December 2004. 8. In the applicant’s submission, the conditions of his detention in the IVS during those four periods were essentially identical and as described below. 9. The IVS was situated in the basement of the police station. The applicant was placed in a cell measuring approximately 12.5 square metres, which housed six to seven people. The walls, floor and ceiling were all covered with cement. There was no ventilation in the cell and consequently it was stuffy. The windows were covered with exterior and interior metal plates with minuscule openings, which gave practically no access to natural light. The cell was lit by a lamp set high up in an alcove in the wall, so there was insufficient light for reading or writing. 10. In summer, temperatures inside exceeded 40˚C and the cell had a high level of humidity. There was no glass in the windows and in winter it was cold. 11. No mattresses, bedding, cups, eating utensils or toiletries were distributed. There were no pest control measures in place to eliminate cockroaches and mice. The cell was not connected to a sewer and detainees had to relieve themselves in a bucket, which was removed from the cell once a day to be emptied. The water which was distributed once a day (ten litres per cell) was not drinkable. There was no provision for outside exercise or showers. 12. The applicant was fed once a day. The food was wholly inadequate, both in terms of quality and portion size. 13. The applicant sustained an injury to his head prior to his arrest. While in the IVS, he did not receive adequate medical treatment for the injury. The applicant – who had contracted tuberculosis in 2001 – shared a cell with a person who was actually suffering from the open form of the disease at the time of his detention, and this represented a potential risk to his health. 14. Each of the IVS cells in which the applicant was kept measured approximately 15 square metres and had six sleeping places. However, it was impossible to provide more detailed information, as the registration logs for the IVS had been destroyed. 15. According to the findings of the inquiry carried out by the Morozovskiy district prosecutor’s office on the basis of the applicant’s complaint, the applicant shared one of the cells in which he was kept – which was equipped with six sleeping places – with four inmates. At some point, he was transferred to a solitary confinement cell upon his request. The applicant received three meals a day. There were no mice or insects in the cells. The bucket that acted as a substitute for sanitary facilities was cleaned daily. The applicant had access to drinking water and toiletries. The applicant was provided with adequate medical assistance on request. 16. On 12 November 2004 the Morozovskiy District Court of the Rostov Region convicted the applicant of murder and sentenced him to eleven years’ imprisonment. On 15 March 2005 the Rostov Regional Court upheld the conviction on appeal. 17. The applicant was then sent to serve his sentence at a postconviction detention facility in the town of Pechora in the Komi Republic. The journey there included train travel and accommodation in SIZO-type detention facilities («следственный изолятор временного содержания», «СИЗО»). These facilities generally serve as remand prisons, yet can also be used for the temporary detention of people who have already been convicted. 18. At certain times between 24 July 2004 and 6 June 2005, the applicant was kept in Novocherkassk detention facility no. IZ-61/3. 19. The applicant was detained in a cell measuring 28 square metres, which was designed to hold ten people. However, he shared this cell with fifteen other detainees, so they had to sleep in shifts. The bedding supplied was dirty, worn out and covered in bloodstains. Mattresses were also worn out and infested with insects. There was no ventilation. Lights were on day and night. No toiletries were supplied. 20. In summer, the cell was extremely humid and stuffy. Owing to water shortages lasting up to two or three days, the applicant had difficulties in obtaining drinking water and flushing the lavatory. The cell was infested with insects such as cockroaches. Conditions were unsanitary and no showers were available. 21. While in detention facility no. IZ-61/3, the applicant was kept in the following cells: - cell no. 247 measuring 25.7 square metres; - cell no. 243 measuring 23 square metres; - cell no. 244 measuring 25.7 square metres; - cell no. 284 measuring 18.5 square metres; - cell no. 162 measuring 33.8 square metres; - cell no. 337 measuring 18.7 square metres; - cell no. 372 measuring 18.7 square metres; - cell no. 402 measuring 10.5 square metres; - cell no. 393 measuring 10.5 square metres; - cell no. 385 measuring 18.5 square metres; - cell no. 316 measuring 18.7 square metres; - cell no. 304 measuring 18.5 square metres; - cell no. 326 measuring 10.5 square metres; - cell no. 332 measuring 10.4 square metres; - cell no. 330 measuring 10.4 square metres. 22. The Government did not specify the actual number of sleeping places in the cells in question and/or the number of inmates who had shared the cells with the applicant, referring to the fact that the detention facility’s logbooks had been destroyed. 23. The Government provided a number of documents dated 30 April 2009 and signed by the governor of detention facility no. IZ-61/3, which stated in particular that: (a) the number of inmates kept together with the applicant in the fifteen cells of Novocherkassk detention facility had not exceeded the number of sleeping places available; (b) on 1 December 2005 an additional new building to accommodate 500 inmates had been opened; (c) there had been no rodents or insects in the facility and the cells had been regularly cleaned and disinfested; (d) each of the fifteen cells had been equipped with lavatories which were separated from the living areas and sinks; and (e) detainees had been provided with good-quality food pursuant to internal regulations. 24. The Government provided three handwritten undated statements from IZ-61/3 officials who stated that they “certainly remembered” that the applicant had been kept in fifteen cells at the facility. In their statements, the officials listed the numbers of the cells and confirmed that he had been provided with an individual sleeping place in each of those cells. 25. Between 7 June and 9 July 2005 the applicant was kept in Ryazan detention facility no. IZ-62/1. 26. In the applicant’s submission, he was kept in a transit cell measuring 49 square metres, which was designed for twenty-two detainees. Instead, during the relevant period, the cell housed no fewer than forty-two people, who had to sleep in shifts. The applicant suffered from a lack of food and found the food which he was given to be of poor quality. He also sustained numerous painful insect bites which left marks on his body. 27. According to the Government, the applicant was kept in cell no. 32 (measuring 49 square metres), cell no. 46 (measuring 56 square metres) and cell no. 56 (measuring 32 square metres). The number of sleeping places and/or inmates who had been kept in the cells with the applicant was unknown, as the facility’s logbooks had been destroyed. 28. The Government provided documents dated 4 May 2009 which had been signed by the deputy governor of IZ-62/1 and which stated that: (a) cell no. 32 had been equipped with a sink; (b) during the applicant’s detention, a private contractor had regularly carried out disinfestation procedures at the detention facility pursuant to a contract which had been concluded on 9 January 2008; and (c) detainees had been provided with three meals a day, pursuant to the relevant regulations. The Government also enclosed a photo of a sink and invoices from the disinfestation contractor which were dated July 2008. 29. Between 20 and 27 July 2005 the applicant was kept in Yekaterinburg detention facility no. IZ-66/1. 30. According to the applicant, he was placed in a cell measuring 25 square metres, together with twenty-three other inmates. No bedding was supplied. The cell was infested with insects. After some days there, he was moved to another cell measuring 22.5 square metres, which housed thirtyfive people. The cell had a row of benches, which were no use for sitting on, let alone sleeping on. No food or drinking water was provided. 31. In the Government’s submission, the applicant was kept in cell no. 137 (measuring 12.5 square metres), cell no. 302 (measuring 31.4 square metres), cell no. 307 (measuring 29.2 square metres) and cell no. 404 (measuring 15.2 square metres). In each cell, he was provided with an individual sleeping place and bedding. The number of inmates who were kept in the cells with the applicant was unknown, as was the number of sleeping places which were available, as the logbooks had been destroyed. 32. The Government provided documents dated 5 May 2009 and signed by the governor of IZ-66/1 confirming that the applicant had been detained in the facility between 20 and 27 July 2005. There had been no rodents or insects in the cell during this period, and the cell had been equipped with sanitary facilities. The applicant had been provided with access to a shower upon his arrival at the facility and had been provided with food, pursuant to the relevant regulations. The cell had been equipped with sixteen sleeping spaces and had housed four to sixteen inmates. The Government also enclosed contracts for disinfestation services, as well as relevant invoices. 33. Another document dated 5 May 2009 and signed by the head of the Sverdlovsk regional department of the Federal Prison Service (“the Sverdlovsk FSIN”) stated that, between 20 and 27 July 2005, the applicant had been kept in cell no. 307 at IZ66/1. According to the document, this cell measured 29.2 square metres and was equipped with twenty sleeping places, and the applicant had shared it with four to sixteen other inmates. 34. The applicant made a complaint to various public authorities, including the prosecutor’s office and courts, in relation to the alleged lack of adequate medical assistance and the conditions of detention in the IVS (see paragraphs 6 to 15 above). In particular, he alleged that he had sustained a post-traumatic brain injury, contracted tuberculosis and become ill with gastritis, astigmatism, alimentary anaemia and muscular hypotrophy while in detention. 35. As regards his complaint to the prosecutor’s office it appears that on 5 November 2005 the Morozovskiy district prosecutor’s office refused to initiate criminal proceedings regarding the alleged poor conditions of the applicant’s detention in the IVS. The applicant was not provided with a copy of that decision. A further refusal was issued on 16 February 2006. However, the prosecutor found that the applicant’s allegations concerning the conditions of detention in the IVS “had been confirmed in part”, but that such conditions did not constitute a crime under the Criminal Code. He also indicated that the head of the police station had been instructed to remedy the irregularities which had been identified. The applicant was not given access to the prosecutor’s inquiry file. 36. On 20 March 2007 the Morozovskiy District Court of the Rostov Region upheld the prosecutor’s decision. On 28 August 2007 the Rostov Regional Court upheld the first-instance judgment. 37. As regards other court proceedings, in 2007 the applicant initiated civil proceedings, claiming compensation for the nonpecuniary damage caused by the conditions of detention in the IVS and the lack of adequate medical assistance rendered to him in that facility. On three occasions – on 26 November and 26 December 2007, and on 11 January 2008 – the Morozovskiy District Court invited the applicant to eliminate discrepancies in his statements of claim. The applicant did not comply with the court’s requests, neither did he appeal against the court’s rulings. The Morozovskiy District Court left the claims unexamined.