CASE OF BALKOV v. RUSSIA
Violation of Article 13+3 - Right to an effective remedy (Article 13 - Effective remedy) (Article 3 - Prohibition of torture;Degrading treatment;Inhuman treatment);Violation of Article 3 - Prohibition of torture (Article 3 - Degrading treatment;Inhuman treatment) (Substantive aspect)
Branko Lubarda;Georgios A. Serghides;Pere Pastor Vilanova
6. The applicant was born in 1965. On 27 March 2009 the Leningrad Regional Court convicted him of murder and sentenced him to thirteen years and six months’ imprisonment. Since January 2010 he has been serving the sentence in correctional colony no. IK-4, in Fornosovo, Leningrad Region. 7. According to the applicant, his eyesight began deteriorating in 2008. In September 2010 he complained about this to a resident colony doctor. 8. Eight months later the applicant was examined by an ophthalmologist, who visited the detention facility. The doctor diagnosed an “almost mature” cataract of the right eye and a focal cataract of the left eye. An in-depth medical examination in a hospital was recommended. 9. On 1 July 2011 the applicant was sent to a prison hospital for an examination by an ophthalmologist. The ophthalmologist confirmed the presence of cataracts on both eyes. He established that the patient had lost his vision in his right eye and prescribed cataract surgery. It was noted that owing to the lack of intraocular lenses in stock and the overcrowding of the facility, the surgery would have to be performed later, in a “planned manner”. 10. The applicant was sent back to the detention facility, the ophthalmologist having recommended that the applicant undergo another eye examination between January and March 2012. 11. On 7 April 2012 the applicant complained about the quality of medical assistance he had received to the Federal Service for the Execution of Sentences in St Petersburg. His complaint was then referred to the medical unit of his detention facility, which dismissed it in a letter dated 25 April 2012, stating that the patient had been provided with medical assistance in full. 12. In May 2012 the applicant was seen by the head of the medical unit and put on a waiting list for admission to the ophthalmological department of the prison hospital for a medical examination and eye surgery. 13. On 24 October 2013 the applicant was seen by an ophthalmologist. The doctor endorsed the advice that the applicant had received on 1 July 2011 and confirmed that he needed cataract surgery. 14. On 14 January and 22 June 2014 the applicant underwent repeated eye examinations, which revealed that the cataract on his left eye was growing. The need for surgery was again noted. The surgery was performed in the prison hospital on 1 October 2014.