CASE OF BUTKO v. RUSSIA
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)
András Sajó;Dmitry Dedov;Erik Møse;Julia Laffranque;Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos;Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska;Paulo Pinto De Albuquerque
5. The applicant was born in 1976 in Havana, Cuba, and lived in the Moscow Region prior to his arrest on 6 April 2007. 6. On 6 June 2008 the Moscow Regional Court convicted the applicant of armed robberies, illegal possession of firearms and other offences and sentenced him to twelve and a half years’ imprisonment. 7. The applicant was detained in the following facilities: (a) until September 2008: remand prison IZ-77/4 in Moscow; (b) from 28 September to 9 October 2008: remand prison IZ-55/3 in Omsk; (c) from 9 October 2008 to 9 April 2009: correctional colony IK-9 in the Omsk Region; (d) from 9 April to 28 May 2009: remand prisons in Omsk and Moscow; (e) from 28 May 2009 to 12 January 2010: correctional colony IK-9 in the Omsk Region; (f) from 12 January to 26 March 2010: correctional colony IK-3 in the Omsk Region; (g) between an unspecified date and 7 December 2010: the applicant received treatment at medical facility LIU-2 (UKh-16/2) in the Omsk Region; (h) after 7 December 2010: correctional colony IK-6 in the Omsk Region. 8. As regards the conditions in the IK-9 facility, the Government submitted a number of certificates concerning various aspects of Mr Butko’s detention which were issued by the facility director on 11 May 2012, as well as a copy of a director’s letter to the Omsk regional prosecutor dated 19 April 2012, from which it is apparent that Mr Butko was assigned to Unit 6 (бригада №6). According to the floor plan, the living areas measured 281.33 sq. m, of which the dormitory comprised 164.2 sq. m. There were 86 sleeping places and the average population ranged between 80 and 86 detainees, their number being logged by the officer on duty. The dormitory was ventilated through openings in the windows. The bath and laundry complex – which detainees were allowed to visit once a week between 6.30 a.m. and 9 a.m. or between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., two units at a time – was equipped with eight shower heads, two plunge pools and one steam room. The facility was equipped with 28 toilets, all of them located in heated areas. Toilet bowls were screened by partitions. 9. The Government produced copies of the prosecutor’s infringement reports detailing various aspects of the detention regime. It appears from the report dated 24 September 2009 that the total population of the IK-9 facility was 1,350 persons. The report of 12 March 2010 read, in the relevant part, as follows: “The inspection uncovered a number of gross violations of the law as regards material conditions of detention. The statutory living space of two square metres per inmate ... is not available in many units. For instance, the premises occupied by Unit 3 measure 232 sq. m but accommodate 126 convicted detainees. The premises are not equipped with the necessary amenities; there are no toilets inside the living areas (except in Unit 3). There are two installations within the facility, one of them accommodating 12 toilets, the other 16, which are used by all the detainees. It follows that the statutory number of toilets (1 toilet for every 10 persons) is not available. Their sanitary condition is not satisfactory; privacy when using the toilet is not ensured ... A number of detainees who are or were serving their sentence in the facility ... have written letters to the European Court of Human Rights, and the above-mentioned violations of law relating to the material conditions of detention may result in unfavourable outcomes for the State.” 10. The applicant disputed the Government’s factual submissions. He submitted that there had been at least 100 detainees in Unit 6. All of them had shared one large space, filled to the maximum with double bunk beds, bedstands and stools, leaving a narrow passage of only 35 cm between beds and a marginally wider passage of 60 cm between two rows of beds. At the head of each bed, two bedstands sat on top of each other. There had been no ventilation and the windows remained sealed shut in winter. Detainees had been prohibited from staying in the dormitory from 8 am to 6 pm, and from sitting down or lying down on the bed at any time before the night call. During the day, detainees had been allowed to be either outdoors or in the recreation room. 11. The recreation room (комната временных развлечений) measured approximately six by eight metres. There were six tables for reading and writing and a large number of stools. The only TV set was switched on according to the timetable. In bad weather, up to eighty detainees would remain in the recreation room without any activity. 12. The washroom measured no more than six square metres, and contained five wash basins with cold water taps. No hot water was available. Detainees had been forbidden from washing any clothing, except socks or handkerchiefs, and from taking off their undershirts. They had only been allowed to clean their faces, brush their teeth, wash their hands or shave. 13. The premises occupied by Unit 6 also included a pantry (комната питания), that is to say a room where inmates could keep and eat their own food. It was open from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., from 1.30 p.m. to 2.45 p.m. and from 6 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. No more than five persons at a time were allowed into the pantry. 14. Hygienic facilities were in short supply. The entire population of the facility, more than a thousand detainees, used the two available toilet installations: one had 16 pans and the other 12 pans. Pans were not screened by any partitions. Detainees were taken in groups of two units, that is to say approximately 200 persons, to the bath and laundry complex once a week. It was open from 6.30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and was equipped with eight shower heads, two ice-cold plunge pools and a non-functioning steam room. 15. The applicant adduced in evidence a written statement from his codetainee Mr K., who had been held in the same unit in 2008 and 2009. According to his statement, on 10 December 2009, Unit 6 had contained between 112 and 120 detainees. The dormitory measured 10.1 by 12.1 metres, that is to say a total floor area of 122.21 square metres. The pantry measured no more than seven square metres. The recreation room was approximately eight metres long by five metres wide. The washroom measured 5 by 1.3 metres and was equipped with five sinks. Mr K. also confirmed that the entire facility population had had to use the two available toilet installations located in separate, unheated outhouses, one with 12 pans and the other with 20 pans. 16. Upon his arrival at the IK-3 facility on 12 January 2010, Mr Butko spent the first seven days in the quarantine unit and was later assigned to Unit 9. He claimed that he had been ill-treated while quarantined. He further submitted that the dormitory of Unit 9 was cold, that the light was dim, and that the premises were generally in disrepair.