CASE OF BUTRIN v. RUSSIA
Preliminary objection joined to merits and dismissed (Article 35-1 - Exhaustion of domestic remedies);Remainder inadmissible;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);Pecuniary damage - claim dismissed (Article 41 - Pecuniary damage;Just satisfaction);Non-pecuniary damage - award (Article 41 - Non-pecuniary damage;Just satisfaction)
Branko Lubarda;Dmitry Dedov;George Nicolaou;Helen Keller;Helena Jäderblom;Johannes Silvis;Luis López Guerra
6. The applicant was born in 1949 in the Khabarovsk Region. He is serving his prison sentence in a correctional colony in the village of Kochubeyevskoe, Stavropol Region. 7. On 9 March 2006 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder, robbery and firearms possession. He remained in detention throughout the investigation and trial. 8. On 28 July 2006 the Stavropol Regional Court found him guilty as charged and sentenced him to nineteen years’ imprisonment in a correctional colony. 9. On 10 February 2010 the applicant was sent to serve his sentence in correctional colony no. IK-17/1 in the village of Kochubeyevskoe, Stavropol Region (“the correctional colony”). 10. When the applicant arrived at the colony the resident doctor noted that he had a first-degree disability: he was totally blind as a result of mature cataracts in both eyes. His blindness, which had developed during his detention, meant that he was unable to move around alone. In addition, he was suffering from coronary disease, hypertension, gallstones and chronic pancreatitis. He was included on a list of detainees requiring enhanced medical attention. 11. The applicant was assigned to colony unit no. 10 for special-needs detainees, which comprised a separate dormitory. It housed forty-six detainees with various disabilities or serious illnesses. The unit had a dormitory measuring 149.6 square metres, a dining room, a toilet, showers, and several offices for administrative and medical personnel. A large part of the dormitory floor area was taken up by furniture such as bunk beds, bedside tables and chairs. According to a certificate issued by the correctional colony on 13 October 2014, each detainee was afforded 2.82 square metres of living space. As is apparent from the documents and photographs submitted by the Government, the premises were not adapted for visually impaired or blind persons. 12. The authorities assigned another inmate with cardiac problems to assist the applicant with his basic needs. The inmate did not receive any remuneration for the assistance he provided to the applicant. He helped the applicant to move around the dormitory and to take showers, and guided him in the dining room. The applicant had no prison work; he remained in the unit throughout the day. 13. According to the applicant, he faced particular difficulties in orientating himself in the correctional colony. He regularly stumbled over objects, slipped and fell. Such helplessness induced anguish and despair. In 2011 he was diagnosed as having an emotionally unstable personality disorder. 14. On 21 February 2011 and 19 November 2012 a medical commission confirmed the applicant’s disability. They recommended that the authorities provide him with a walking stick, a white cane, a player for audiobooks designed for blind people, a vocal clinical thermometer and a vocal tonometer. The recommendations were never enforced. According to two entries in his medical record, on 30 November 2011 and 23 January 2013 officials asked the applicant whether he wished to receive those items. The applicant allegedly refused, but did not agree to make a written note to that effect in the medical record. 15. In September 2014 the inmate who had been assisting the applicant was released from detention and the applicant was left to fend for himself. According to a certificate issued by the authorities, he refused the assistance of other inmates. 16. On 8 February 2013 the applicant asked for a medical examination to determine whether his state of health warranted his early release. 17. On 5 April 2013 a medical commission held that as blindness was one of the diseases listed in Government Decree no. 54 of 6 February 2004 that may warrant release from a correctional institution, the applicant could be relieved from serving his sentence. 18. Relying on the conclusion of the medical commission, the applicant lodged an application with the Kochubeevskoe District Court, Stavropol Region, for release on health grounds. On 16 April 2013 the District Court dismissed the application. Referring to Ruling no. 21 of the Supreme Court of Russia dated 20 December 2011 (see paragraph 26 below), the court noted that the fact that the applicant’s illness was included in the list provided for by Government Decree no. 54 did not automatically mean that he would be released. The court cited the gravity of the crimes committed by the applicant and the length of the prison term he had yet to serve. Taking those two factors into account, the court concluded that the applicant should remain in the correctional colony. The Stavropol Regional Court upheld that judgment on appeal. 19. On 10 July 2014 the Supreme Court of Russia rejected a cassation appeal lodged by the applicant without examining it on the merits. It found that the applicant had failed to lodge the appeal within the statutory timelimit.