CASE OF VERSHININ v. RUSSIA
Violation of Article 5 - Right to liberty and security (Article 5-1 - Lawful arrest or detention;Article 5-1-e - Persons of unsound mind)
Branko Lubarda;Dmitry Dedov;Helena Jäderblom
5. The applicant was born in 1959 and lives in Radishchevo, Moscow Region. 6. In 1997, as a result of an accident, the applicant’s house had partially burnt and he had to live in the attic, which was not designed for lodging. The applicant considered that in the circumstances the authorities were under an obligation to provide him with free housing. His civil action against the municipality was dismissed in court. 7. In January 2006 the applicant lodged complaints with the State Duma and the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation against the judges who had dealt with his civil case. In particular, the applicant, using abusive language, accused them of having taken bribes from the defendant in the amount of USD 30,000, falsification of evidence, terrorism, abuse of power as well as inciting racial and ethnic hatred. 8. On 13 March 2006 the applicant was arrested under suspicion of having committed defamation of a judge and deliberately false denunciation. 9. On 14 March 2006 the Meshanskiy District Court of Moscow (Мещанский районный суд г. Москвы) remanded the applicant in custody. His detention on remand was subsequently extended at regular intervals by relevant detention orders. 10. The investigator ordered the applicant’s psychiatric evaluation in the State Academic Centre for Social and Forensic Psychiatry in Moscow (Государственный научный центр социальной и судебной психиатрии им. В.П. Сербского) (“the Forensic Psychiatry Centre”). 11. On 20 June 2006 the experts concluded that he showed symptoms of paranoid personality development, was in need of an outpatient supervision and treatment. At the same time they concluded that the applicant was sane, fit to stand trial and highlighted that he had no history of mental disorders. 12. On 1 August 2006 the prosecution transferred the applicant’s case to the Moscow City Court (Московский городской суд) for examination. The City Court ordered an additional forensic psychiatric examination by the Forensic Psychiatry Centre. 13. On 21 November 2006 the experts concluded that the applicant was suffering from a chronic mental disorder - paranoid personality development – and needed involuntary treatment in a specialised psychiatric facility. The experts based their assessment, inter alia, on the applicant’s “overvalued” ideas expressed in numerous petitions to various authorities “in a grotesque form”, attempts to “find the truth”, contradictions in his opinions, ambivalence etc. The experts also concluded that the applicant had been insane at the time of the impugned offences and unfit to stand trial. 14. On an unspecified date the City Court ordered another forensic psychiatric examination of the applicant by the Forensic Psychiatry Centre. 15. On 7 February 2007 the new report confirmed the findings of the previous report of 21 November 2006. In addition, the experts found that the applicant was a danger to society, stating as follows: “[T]aking into account that [the applicant] shows, in subjectively significant situations, a tendency towards rapid formation of overvalued ideas which sometimes reach a delusional level, broadening of the circle of persons brought into the focus of these emotions, grave emotional disturbances with non-corrective behavior, rejection of regime requirements, lack of critical attitude to his [emotional] state, dissimulation, [he] is a danger to the society and needs compulsory treatment in a specialised psychiatric hospital”. 16. On 20 February 2007 the City Court having established the principal facts in respect of the abovementioned offences discontinued criminal proceedings against the applicant due to his insanity. The court referring to the findings and recommendations of the psychiatrists ordered the applicant’s involuntary treatment in a psychiatric hospital. 17. On 5 April 2007 the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation summarily upheld the lower court’s decision. 18. In April 2007 the applicant was transferred from a remand prison to a psychiatric facility. In June 2008 he was released from the hospital.