CASE OF HRISTOSKOV v. BULGARIA
Violation of Article 3 - Prohibition of torture (Article 3 - Degrading treatment) (Substantive aspect);No violation of Article 3 - Prohibition of torture (Article 3 - Degrading treatment) (Substantive aspect)
Yonko Grozev;Gabriele Kucsko-Stadlmayer
4. The applicant was born in 1961 and is currently detained in Kremikovtsi Prison Hostel near Sofia. 5. In a final judgment of 23 February 2009, the applicant was convicted of murder and sentenced to twelve years’ imprisonment. On 6 April 2009 he entered Sofia Prison to serve his sentence. He did not say anything about the conditions of his detention there. 6. On 21 August 2009 he was transferred to Kremikovtsi Prison Hostel, a closed-type prison hostel. 7. On 26 August 2009 the serving of his sentence of imprisonment was interrupted in order for him to take care of his elderly mother, who had undergone hip-replacement surgery in July 2009. The interruption came to an end on 26 October 2009, and the applicant was again placed in Kremikovtsi Prison Hostel. 8. From 26 October 2009 until 28 October 2010 the applicant was placed in group no. 72. According to him, the group was housed in several cabins with cement floors. The cells were heated with wooden and coal stoves. They were damp and had many of their windows broken and doors shattered. Each cell had between thirty and thirty-five square metres of floor space and housed between sixteen and twenty-two inmates – that is, provided less than two square metres per inmate –, and had one sink and one toilet with a shower. According to the Government, the cell measured between thirty-five and forty square metres and housed around twelve inmates. 9. The applicant further said that cold water was only available between 6 and 8 a.m. and 6 and 8 p.m., and hot water was only available between 8 and 9 a.m. and 7 and 8 p.m. Hygienic and sanitary materials were not regularly provided. There was no canteen or dedicated eating space, and no cutlery. As a result of those conditions – mainly the cold and the humidity –he had developed arthritis of both knees. 10. On 28 October 2010 the applicant was transferred to group no. 6. He was placed in a cell which he shared with three to four other inmates. He also started working in the hostel’s canteen and had his meals there. According to the Government, the applicant had to share a cell with two to three inmates. The cell was heated with electricity and there were no water supply restrictions. The door and the windows were in good condition. 11. After the applicant’s prison regime was changed to a more lenient one, on 19 November 2014 he was placed in a cell outside the guarded area of the hostel. The Government submitted that his cell had its own sanitary facilities and that no water supply restrictions existed. 12. According to the applicant, material conditions in the cells in which he was placed after 28 October 2010 were significantly better in terms of heating, lighting and hygiene, and were satisfactory. Food was also of good quality. Taking a shower, however, was only possible after 10 p.m. due to low water pressure. 13. Lastly, the applicant alleged that health care in custody was inadequate, with no qualified doctors but only a dentist working on site, and no provision of medicines at reduced prices, as available to people out of prison.