CASE OF POGHOSOV v. GEORGIA
No violation of Article 3 - Prohibition of torture (Article 3 - Degrading treatment) (Substantive aspect)
Nona Tsotsoria;Síofra O’Leary
5. The applicant was born in 1986 and lives in Tbilisi. 6. The applicant was arrested on suspicion of murder on 16 April 2005. On 11 January 2007 the Tbilisi City Court convicted the applicant as charged and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The conviction was upheld on appeal by the Tbilisi Court of Appeal on 12 May 2007. The Supreme Court of Georgia rejected an appeal on points of law by the applicant as inadmissible. 7. According to the applicant, prior to the initiation of the criminal proceedings against him and his detention, he had no major medical problems and was in good health. 8. Subsequent to his arrest, the applicant was placed in Tbilisi Prison no. 5 from where he was transferred to Tbilisi Prison no. 1 and then back to Tbilisi Prison no. 5 sometime in February 2006. 9. According to the applicant, in October 2006 his state of health started to deteriorate. He had a fever and was coughing. He lost weight and felt extremely weak. The applicant alleged that he voiced his medical concerns with the prison administration and requested a medical check-up, however in vain as he was not provided with any medical assistance. He failed to submit a copy of any of the complaints in this connection. 10. On 11 January 2007 the applicant, after having complained to the prison administration, was seen by a prison doctor who prescribed him antibiotics. Two weeks later, on 28 January 2007, he was transferred to the prison hospital, where he underwent various medical examinations. On 2 February 2007 he was diagnosed with tuberculosis of the right lung MGB (+) positive, further complicated by left-arm spontaneous pneumothorax. On 5 February 2007 the applicant was placed on the DOTS programme (Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course – the treatment strategy for the detection and cure of TB recommended by the World Health Organisation) and started receiving conventional, first-line anti-TB medication. In addition, he was provided with vitamins. 11. On 8 October 2007 the applicant completed the course of treatment. However, a medical examination of 18 October 2007 revealed a recurrence of the tuberculosis. On 30 October 2007 the applicant was enrolled in the second phase of anti-TB treatment which he successfully completed on 6 August 2008. On 26 August 2008 the applicant underwent another bacteriological sputum smear, which was negative, that is to say it showed no evidence of the TB microbacterium. 12. According to the case file, since then the applicant had repeatedly undergone sputum tests. The latest medical examination of which the Court was informed, on 29 February 2012, revealed that the applicant’s TB was in a non-active phase. Thus, he did not require any anti-TB treatment.