CASE OF SERGEY ANTONOV v. UKRAINE
Violation of Article 3 - Prohibition of torture (Article 3 - Degrading treatment;Inhuman treatment) (Substantive aspect);Violation of Article 13 - Right to an effective remedy (Article 13 - Effective remedy);Violation of Article 34 - Individual applications (Article 34 - Hinder the exercise of the right of petition);Non-pecuniary damage - award (Article 41 - Non-pecuniary damage)
Aleš Pejchal;André Potocki;Ganna Yudkivska;Helena Jäderblom;Josep Casadevall;Síofra O’Leary;Vincent A. De Gaetano
5. The applicant was born in 1975. According to the most recently available information, in September 2013 the applicant arrived at Buchanska Correctional Colony No. 85, Ukraine, to serve a sentence. He has not informed the Court of his current whereabouts. 6. For a number of years the applicant has been suffering from various health problems. In particular, in July 2009, apparently also while serving a sentence, he was hospitalised in Buchanska Correctional Colony No. 85 and later transferred to a tuberculosis hospital in Slavyanoserbska Correctional Colony No. 61. Since November 2009 the applicant has been registered with the Kyiv City Aids Prevention and Control Centre. It appears that in December 2011 the applicant had a CD4+ cell count, the result of this count being 23 cells. No more detailed information about his precise diagnosis or about any further events between 2009 and September 2012 is available. 7. According to the applicant, on 7 September 2012 he was arrested on suspicion of theft. In a letter to this Court of 21 June 2013 the applicant stated that at the moment of his arrest he had had the following illnesses: human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) at clinical stage 4, post-tuberculosis residual effects, oropharyngeal candidiasis, and chronic hepatitis type C. 8. The decision on the applicant’s pre-trial detention was taken by a court on 10 September 2012. Between 27 September 2012 and 29 September 2013 the applicant was detained in the Kyiv Pre-Trial Detention Centre (Київський слідчий ізолятор) (“the SIZO”). 9. On arrival at the SIZO the applicant underwent an initial medical examination. The Government submitted a copy of the applicant’s initial medical examination card with the following information: height 1.77 m; weight 63 kg; blood pressure 125/80; blood type (unclear handwriting); bodily injuries none; infectious diseases: pulmonary tuberculosis – 2008, Botkin’s disease, – “-”, and sexually transmitted diseases – “-”. It was noted that the applicant had “no health complaints”. The applicant also submitted during the examination that he was registered with the Kyiv City Aids Prevention and Control Centre. 10. According to the applicant, because of the deterioration of his health in November 2012 he was examined in the above Centre. The only document provided in support of this statement is an advisory opinion issued by the Centre “on request” on 8 November 2012. The opinion stated, without noting when exactly the applicant had been examined, that the applicant had been diagnosed with HIV at clinical stage 4, post-tuberculosis residual changes, oropharyngeal candidiasis, and chronic viral hepatitis type C. The opinion also cited the result of the applicant’s CD4+ cell count performed on 13 December 2011. It was recommended that the applicant take antiretroviral therapy (“ART”) for life. In their submissions of 5 July 2013 following the applicant’s request under Rule 39 of the Rules of the Court (see paragraph 4 above), the Government noted that on 8 November 2012 the applicant had been diagnosed as above. 11. On 10 December 2012 the applicant agreed to undergo an HIV test following his “request submitted to the SIZO doctors”. According to the results of this test dated 12 December 2012, the applicant had HIV antibodies. 12. On 9 January 2013 the applicant underwent a biochemical blood analysis and a CD4+ cell count (the result of the count was 3 cells, or 0.5% (percentage of total lymphocytes)). The applicant was diagnosed with a high degree of immunological suppression and prescribed preventive anti-tuberculosis treatment. 13. On 14 February 2013 the applicant was placed in the infectious diseases ward of the SIZO. It was noted that the applicant’s state of health was of “medium seriousness”. He underwent an X-ray and various other examinations and was diagnosed with a tuberculosis relapse, extra-pulmonary tuberculosis, HIV infection at clinical stage 4, chronic hepatitis of the mixed type (toxic type and C type), and other diseases. The applicant was prescribed anti-tuberculosis treatment, detox and symptomatic treatment. The Government submitted that the applicant had received this treatment in full. 14. According to the available medical documents, between 14 February and 12 June 2013 the applicant’s weight dropped from 63 kg to 58 kg. 15. On 19 February 2013 the applicant was examined in the Kyiv City Anti-Tuberculosis Treatment Centre. 16. According to the medical file submitted by the Government, between 21 February and 2 July 2013 the applicant had consultations with SIZO doctors on the following dates: 21 and 28 February 2013; 7, 14, 21 and 28 March 2013; 4, 11, 18 and 29 April 2013; 6, 8 and 16 May 2013; 4, 19, 21 and 26 June 2013; and 2 July 2013. It was noted on some of those occasions that the applicant complained of general weakness but that his condition was stable. He “bore the treatment in a satisfactory manner” and after the applicant had started the ART (see paragraph 18 below) the consistent advice was that the ART should be continued. On several occasions the applicant was also prescribed various medication. 17. On 26 February 2013 the applicant was prescribed “a preventive treatment”. It was recommended that anti-tuberculosis treatment be continued in order to prepare the applicant for the ART. 18. In his letter of 23 July 2013 the applicant submitted that the ART had been prescribed to him in February 2013. In his further observations the applicant stated that the treatment had only been prescribed to him on 30 March 2013. The exact date when the applicant started the ART is unclear. 19. On some occasions in March and April 2013 the applicant refused to take the ART. According to the applicant, the prescribed drugs did not agree with him. 20. On 26 April 2013 the applicant was prescribed the ART “under the TDF/FTC (tenofovir/emtricitabine +ztv) schema”. 21. On 16 May 2013 the applicant consulted an infectious diseases specialist from Kyiv City Clinic No. 5, and was prescribed a diet and various medication. It was noted that the applicant had again stopped the ART. 22. On 14 June 2013 SIZO officials, at the request of the police, informed the police that the applicant’s state of health was of “medium seriousness, with a tendency to deteriorate which might lead to a lethal outcome”. They confirmed that, apart from the said diagnoses, the applicant was suffering from inflammation of the lymph nodes, dermatitis, intestinal dysbacteriosis, and other diseases. The applicant was receiving anti-tuberculosis treatment, ART and symptomatic treatment. It was stated that the applicant needed long-term medical treatment in a specialised medical facility. Consequently, they asked for the investigation to be speeded up and for the possibility of the applicant’s release to be considered. The document was signed by the head of the SIZO and the head of the SIZO’s medical department. 23. On the same date the criminal case against the applicant was transferred to a court for consideration on the merits. 24. On 18 June 2013 the applicant’s lawyer requested the applicant’s release before the national court. 25. Between 26 June and 5 July 2013 the applicant underwent a number of tests (blood and urine tests and X-ray examinations). In particular, on 3 July 2013 a biochemical blood test and CD4+ cell count were performed. The increase in the CD4+ blood cells from 3 to 69 was established (from 0.5% to 4.5%). On 5 July 2013 an expert MTB/RIF diagnostic test of the applicant’s sputum for identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was carried out. The test was negative. 26. In his application form to this Court of 8 July 2013 the applicant stated that he was suffering from general weakness, intestinal pain, severe headache, increase in the number and size of mycotic ulcers on his body and face, liver and chest pain, haemorrhoids, diarrhoea, pain in the lymph glands, and severe shortness of breath. He also had severe pain in his left leg, had lost around 20 kilograms in weight, and had difficulty sleeping. His CD4+ cell count had, however increased. For the hepatitis C, ulcers and left leg problem there was no treatment at all. 27. On 11 July 2013 the SIZO administration informed the applicant’s lawyer that the applicant was in the SIZO medical ward. He was receiving anti-tuberculosis treatment, ART and symptomatic treatment. The applicant underwent an X-ray examination, had various tests (complete blood count, biochemical blood test, blood sugar test, CD4+ cell count, and urine and sputum analyses) and had a number of consultations with infectious diseases and tuberculosis specialists. It was noted that the applicant’s condition was stable and there was a positive dynamic. He did not need hospital treatment, but required monitoring by infectious diseases and tuberculosis specialists. 28. On the same date the Kagarlytskyy District Court, Kyiv Region, extended the applicant’s pre-trial detention for two months. The applicant’s lawyer’s request for release on medical grounds was rejected by the court as not substantiated by appropriate documents. It also rejected the applicant’s lawyer’s request for a medical examination for him. 29. The applicant stated that on 13 July 2013 an ambulance had been called for him. He was given painkillers on that occasion. 30. In a letter of 23 July 2013 to this Court the applicant stated that there had been no change in his medical treatment between 14 June and 23 July 2013. According to him, the current treatment was not improving his health. 31. On 5 and 14 August 2013 the applicant was examined by a tuberculosis specialist, who concluded that the applicant’s condition was stable. 32. On 29 September 2013 the applicant was transferred to Buchanska Correctional Colony No. 85 to serve a sentence (the parties did not submit to the Court the details of the applicant’s conviction). He was provided with ART medication for two months’ treatment. On arrival at the Colony the applicant was examined by a doctor and diagnosed with HIV infection (IV clinical stage), hepatitis in the stage of remission, and post-tuberculosis residual changes (category 5.1). 33. On 10 October 2013 the applicant complained of fever, cough and abdominal pain. He was diagnosed with aggravation of his hepatitis, gastroduodenitis, and bronchitis, and was placed in a medical ward. 34. According to the applicant, on 25 June and 3 July 2013 he was subjected to psychological pressure by the SIZO authorities and their medical staff, who shouted at the applicant, called him names and told him to sign a paper stating that he had refused ART treatment of his own volition and that he had no complaints. The material in the case file includes a copy of a handwritten note dated 3 July 2013 and signed by the applicant. The note says the following: “Despite the worsening of my state of health, the personnel of the SIZO medical ward are doing everything possible and I have no complaints about them”. 35. On 4 July 2013 the applicant had a meeting with his lawyer. On the same date the applicant complained about the alleged pressure to the prosecutor’s office. He stated that SIZO doctors and an unknown police officer had forced him to sign a paper “that he refused (or had refused)” the ART and had no complaints. According to the applicant, he was threatened with being beaten, with being removed from the medical ward, with being placed in a disciplinary cell, and that other detainees would suffer because of him. The applicant stated that he had signed a paper stating that he had no complaints against the SIZO doctors. 36. By a letter of 8 July 2013 the Shevchenkivskyy District Prosecutor’s Office sent the applicant’s lawyer’s complaint to the Kyiv Department of the State Prison Service “for consideration”. 37. On an unknown date a State Prison Service official informed the Head of the Kyiv Department of the State Prison Service that there had been “no breaches of law by the staff on the medical ward or by the SIZO authorities”. On 5 August 2013 this information was submitted to the prosecutor and to the applicant. 38. On 14 October 2013 the head of the SIZO medical ward informed the head of the SIZO that there had been no incidence of pressure being put on the applicant during the latter’s stay there. 39. On the same date inmates B. and F. testified to the head of the SIZO that there had been no incidence of any kind of pressure being put on the applicant, and that he had always been provided with medical assistance when he requested it.