CASE OF REMUS TUDOR v. ROMANIA
Violation of Article 3 - Prohibition of torture (Article 3 - Degrading treatment) (Substantive aspect)
Alvina Gyulumyan;Johannes Silvis;Josep Casadevall;Kristina Pardalos
5. The applicant was born in 1966. 6. In 1990 the applicant was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was held in a number of different detention centres. No information is available in respect of his places of detention before 8 April 2009. From the latter date until 10 November 2011 he was detained in Jilava Prison. On the latter date he was transferred to Giurgiu Prison. 7. The applicant and the Government disagreed as to most aspects of the conditions of detention in Jilava Prison. 8. The applicant alleged that he had occupied overcrowded cells, without providing details about the surface area and the number of cellmates. 9. He also complained of unsatisfactory sanitary conditions. The cells did not have any furniture in which to keep personal objects and food, therefore the prisoners were forced to keep them under their beds where there were hundreds of insects. 10. The temperature in the cells was very low in winter. 11. The applicant claimed that for three months, from April until July 2009, they had not had hot water. The prisoners were confronted with the same situation in the summer of 2010 when they had to live without hot water from 28 June until 5 August 2010. 12. He also contended that even though he was a non-smoker, he had had to share the cell with smokers. He further claimed that in his cell there were prisoners who frequently consumed drugs and that the smoke from the cigarettes combined with the smoke released from the drugs made the air in the cell unbreathable. 13. The Government supplied the following details concerning the cells in which the applicant has been detained in Jilava Prison: - Between 8 April and 24 May 2009 the applicant was detained in cell no. 513, measuring 45.30 sq. m. The cell was occupied by between fourteen and seventeen inmates. - Between 25 May and 28 December 2009 the applicant was detained in cell no. 405, measuring 13.28 sq. m, which he shared with five or six other inmates. - Between 29 December 2009 and 11 February 2010 the applicant was detained in cell no. 309, measuring 34.78 sq. m. The cell was occupied by up to thirteen inmates. - Between 12 February and 1 August 2010 the applicant was detained in cell no. 414, measuring 44 sq. m. The cell was occupied by between thirteen and eighteen inmates. - Between 2 August and 16 September 2010 the applicant was detained in cell no. 413, measuring 12.83 sq. m, which he shared with two or three other inmates. - Between 17 September 2010 and 4 September 2011 the applicant was detained in cell no. 207, measuring 34.78 sq. m, which he shared with fourteen or fifteen other inmates. - Between 5 September and 10 November 2011 the applicant was detained in cell no. 305, measuring 32.76 sq. m, which he shared with nine or eleven inmates. 14. The applicant was detained in smoking cells and he had not asked to be transferred to a non-smoking cell. 15. As regards cleanliness and hygiene, the Government submitted that every year the prison authorities signed contracts for rodent and pest control with companies specialising in this work. Disinfection of the cells was carried out at least once every three months. Moreover, the quality of the drinking water was tested regularly by the prison authorities, with the aid of a specialised laboratory. Furthermore, the food was fresh and of good quality.