Last Updated on October 26, 2023 by LawEuro
Having examined all the material submitted to it, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion on the admissibility and merits of these complaints. Having regard to its case-law on the subject, the Court considers that in the instant case the applicants’ conditions of detention during their transport were inadequate. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.
FIRST SECTION
CASE OF PENKOVTSEV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA
(Applications nos. 5261/19 and 30 others – see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
26 October 2023
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Penkovtsev and Others v. Russia,
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Péter Paczolay, President,
Gilberto Felici,
Raffaele Sabato, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 5 October 2024,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
PROCEDURE
1. The case originated in applications against Russia lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on the dates indicated in the appended table.
2. The Russian Government were given notice of the applications.
THE FACTS
3. A list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.
4. The applicants complained of the inadequate conditions of detention during their transport. Some applicants also raised a complaint under Article 13 of the Convention.
THE LAW
I. JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS
5. Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.
II. JURISDICTION
6. The Court observes that the facts giving rise to the alleged violations of the Convention occurred prior to 16 September 2022, the date on which the Russian Federation ceased to be a party to the Convention. The Court therefore decides that it has jurisdiction to examine the present applications (see Fedotova and Others v. Russia [GC], nos. 40792/10 and 2 others, §§ 68‑73, 17 January 2023).
III. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 3 OF THE CONVENTION
7. The applicants complained principally of the inadequate conditions of detention during their transport. They relied on Article 3 of the Convention.
8. The Court notes that the applicants were detained in poor conditions during transport. The details of the applicants’ detention are indicated in the appended table. The Court refers to the principles established in its case‑law regarding cramped and defective conditions during the transit of prisoners (see Tomov and Others v. Russia, nos. 18255/10 and 5 others, §§ 124-27, 9 April 2019). It reiterates in particular that a strong presumption of a violation arises when detainees are transported in conveyances offering less than 0.5 square metres of space per person, regardless of whether such cramped conditions result from an excessive number of detainees being transported together or from the restrictive design of compartments (ibid., § 125). As regards longer journeys, factors such as a failure to arrange an individual sleeping place for each detainee or to secure an adequate supply of drinking water and food or access to the toilet seriously aggravate the situation of prisoners during transfers and are indicative of a violation of Article 3 (ibid., § 127).
9. In the leading case of Tomov and Others (cited above), the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.
10. Having examined all the material submitted to it, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion on the admissibility and merits of these complaints. Having regard to its case-law on the subject, the Court considers that in the instant case the applicants’ conditions of detention during their transport were inadequate.
11. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.
IV. OTHER ALLEGED VIOLATIONS UNDER WELL-ESTABLISHED CASE-LAW
12. The applicants whose names are listed in the appended table also complained under Article 13 of the Convention of the lack of an effective remedy for their complaints about poor conditions of detention during transport. These complaints are not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 (a) of the Convention, nor are they inadmissible on any other ground. Accordingly, they must be declared admissible. Having examined all the material before it, the Court concludes that they also disclose a violation of the Convention in the light of its findings in Tomov and Others (cited above, §§ 143-56).
V. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION
13. Article 41 of the Convention provides:
“If the Court finds that there has been a violation of the Convention or the Protocols thereto, and if the internal law of the High Contracting Party concerned allows only partial reparation to be made, the Court shall, if necessary, afford just satisfaction to the injured party.”
14. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Pukhachev and Zaretskiy v. Russia, nos. 17494/16 and 29203/16, 16 November 2017), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.
FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,
1. Decides to join the applications;
2. Holds that it has jurisdiction to deal with these applications as they relate to facts that took place before 16 September 2022;
3. Declares the applications admissible;
4. Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention during transport;
5. Holds that there has been a violation of Article 13 of the Convention, taken in conjunction with Article 3, in respect of the applicants who relied on that provision (see the appended table);
6. Holds
(a) that the respondent State is to pay the applicants, within three months, the amounts indicated in the appended table, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement;
(b) that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amounts at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default during the default period plus three percentage points.
Done in English, and notified in writing on 26 October 2023, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Viktoriya Maradudina Péter Paczolay
Acting Deputy Registrar President
______________
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention
(inadequate conditions of detention during transport)
| No. | Application no.
Date of introduction |
Applicant’s name
Year of birth |
Representative’s name and location | Means of transport
Start and end date |
Sq. m per inmate | Specific grievances | Other complaints under well‑established case-law | Amount awarded for pecuniary and non‑pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant
(in euros)[i] |
| 1. | 5261/19
21/12/2018 |
Andrey Vladimirovich PENKOVTSEV
1981 |
|
van, train
15/07/2018 to 16/07/2018 |
0.35 m²
|
insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to toilet | 1,000 | |
| 2. | 5741/19
12/03/2019 |
Aleksandr Mikhaylovich SAPOZHNIKOV
1994 |
|
train
14/11/2018 to 15/11/2018 |
0.15 m²
|
|
Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 |
| 3. | 6530/19
11/12/2018 |
Grigoriy Vasilyevich SHCHEPETOV
1989 |
|
van, numerous occasions of transport between detention facilities and the courthouse
06/09/2017 to 21/11/2018 |
0.2 m²
|
lack of fresh air, passive smoking, inadequate temperature, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or insufficient electric light
|
Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 |
| 4. | 7855/19
09/01/2019 |
Oleg Alekseyevich CHEREDNICHENKO
1981 |
|
train, transit cell
28/09/2018 to 12/11/2018 |
overcrowding
|
1,000 | ||
| 5. | 8948/19
30/01/2019 |
Varazdat Artemovich AGEKYAN
1994 |
|
van / train (Moscow – Nizhniy Novgorod)
09/11/2018 to 27/12/2018 |
overcrowding, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to toilet | 1,000 | ||
| 6. | 11136/19
22/03/2019 |
Nikolay Sergeyevich YAKUNENKO
1986 |
|
van, train
19/03/2019 to 20/03/2019
train 28/01/2020 to 26/02/2020 |
˂0.5 m²
0.3 m²
|
overcrowding, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of fresh air, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of or insufficient natural light, no or restricted access to toilet
overcrowding, applicant transported on numerous occasions, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack or inadequate furniture, lack or insufficient quantity of food, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to toilet, passive smoking, poor quality of food |
Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 |
| 7. | 11411/19
03/02/2019 |
Kirill Aleksandrovich NIKOLAYEV
1986 |
Yevgeniy Yevgenyevich Loginov
St Petersburg |
van
24/03/2017 to 14/12/2018 |
0.3 m²
|
lack of fresh air
|
Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 |
| 8. | 11500/19
22/02/2019 |
Ruslan Anatolyevich PODGORNYY
1971 |
Aleksey Mikhaylovich Urlashov
St Petersburg |
van
21/09/2017 to 22/08/2018 |
0.3 m²
|
lack of fresh air, mouldy or dirty cell, overcrowding, no or restricted access to toilet, passive smoking
|
Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport
|
1,000 |
| 9. | 11674/19
05/02/2019 |
Vitaliy Afanasyevich KUTSAR
1974 |
Marat Farukovich Mazitov
Moscow |
van
20/12/2017 to 07/09/2018 |
0.26 m²
|
lack of fresh air, overcrowding, passive smoking
|
Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 |
| 10. | 11695/19
28/01/2019 |
Vladimir Vladimirovich MATVIYENKO
1988 |
|
van
31/10/2018 to 31/10/2018
train 31/10/2018 to 31/10/2018 |
0.25-0.3 m²
0.43 m²
|
overcrowding, lack of safety belts, lack of handrails, lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, lack of or insufficient electric light
overcrowding, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to potable water |
Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 |
| 11. | 12306/19
28/01/2019 |
Aleksandr Nikolayevich YEROFEYEV
1989 |
Yelena Vladislavovna Chernyak
St Petersburg |
van
06/12/2017 to 17/08/2018 |
no or restricted access to toilet, overcrowding | 1,000 | ||
| 12. | 12960/19
18/02/2019 |
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich SORCHIK
1992 |
|
train
19/10/2018 to 20/10/2018 |
insufficient number of sleeping places, no or restricted access to toilet, overcrowding | 1,000 | ||
| 13. | 14054/19
24/02/2019 |
Petr Vladimirovich MAZNYAK
1985 |
|
transit cell, van
14/01/2019 to 24/09/2019 |
0.4 m²
|
overcrowding, no or restricted access to running water, lack or insufficient quantity of food, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to toilet, poor quality of food | Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 |
| 14. | 14670/19
22/04/2019 |
Pavel Nikolayevich KRASNOPEROV
1961 |
|
train
12/03/2019 to 04/04/2019 |
0.2 m²
|
no or restricted access to toilet, lack of fresh air, overcrowding | 1,000 | |
| 15. | 15285/19
28/05/2019 |
Vladimir Yevgenyevich PARFENOV
1970
|
|
train
12/02/2019 to 13/02/2019 |
0.15 m²
|
insufficient number of sleeping places, no or restricted access to toilet | 1,000 | |
| 16. | 16851/19
27/02/2019 |
Yevgeniy Nikolayevich ZABOYEV
1987 |
|
train
03/12/2018 to 03/12/2018
train 19/12/2018 to 19/12/2018
train 01/02/2019 to 01/02/2019 |
0.28 m²
|
overcrowding, insufficient number of sleeping places, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of fresh air, passive smoking
overcrowding, insufficient number of sleeping places, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to potable water
overcrowding, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to potable water |
Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 |
| 17. | 17652/19
16/05/2019 |
Ilya Vakilyevich FARSIYEV
1986 |
|
train, transit cell
17/11/2018 to 06/02/2019 |
insufficient number of sleeping places, lack or insufficient quantity of food, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient electric light, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, no or restricted access to potable water | 1,000 | ||
| 18. | 21953/19
04/04/2019 |
Nikolay Nikolayevich SKRYPNIKOV
1971 |
Valentina Aleksandrovna Bokareva
Strasbourg |
van, transit cell
05/03/2017 to 05/10/2018 |
0.33 m²
|
overcrowding, passive smoking, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to potable water, no handrails in vans, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to running water | Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 |
| 19. | 23832/19
15/03/2019 |
Fidan Firazovich SAITGALIN
1983 |
|
van
08/09/2015 to 25/12/2018 |
lack of or insufficient electric light, no or restricted access to toilet, overcrowding
|
Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
| 20. | 24075/19
18/04/2019 |
Pavel Aleksandrovich YEFIMENKO
1990 |
|
van
25/03/2019 to 25/03/2019 |
0.2 m²
|
overcrowding, inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, no or restricted access to toilet | 1,000 | |
| 21. | 24145/19
19/04/2019 |
Artem Sergeyevich VORONOV
1989 |
|
van (Reutov Garrison Military Court – IVS Balashikha – SIZO-1 Noginsk – Yaroslavskiy railway station Moscow)
11/01/2019 to 18/02/2019
train (Moscow – Nizhniy Novgorod) 19/02/2019 to 20/02/2019 |
overcrowding, no or restricted access to toilet, cramped individual compartment (“glass”), lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature
no or restricted access to toilet, lack of fresh air |
Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
| 22. | 25389/19
29/04/2019 |
Sergey Yevgenyevich REZCHIKOV
1980 |
|
train, van
05/07/2018 to 23/02/2019
train 15/06/2019 to 17/06/2019 |
insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to potable water, lack or insufficient quantity of food, overcrowding, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, constant electric light, lack or inadequate furniture, passive smoking
insufficient number of sleeping places, overcrowding, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of privacy for toilet, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to potable water |
Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
| 23. | 25391/19
02/05/2019 |
Armen Mikhaylovich AVETISYAN
1978 |
|
train
03/11/2018 to 04/11/2018
train 25/03/2019 to 26/03/2019
train 28/03/2019 to 28/03/2019 |
0.4 m²
0.4 m²
0.4 m²
|
overcrowding, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, insufficient number of sleeping places, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to potable water
overcrowding, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, insufficient number of sleeping places, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to potable water
overcrowding, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, insufficient number of sleeping places, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to potable water |
1,000 | |
| 24. | 26112/19
18/04/2019 |
Vitaliy Vladimirovich ASTAKHOV
1978 |
|
transit cell, van, numerous occasions of transport between the detention facility and the courthouse
23/08/2018 to 17/04/2019 |
overcrowding, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, passive smoking, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to toilet, insufficient number of sitting places, inadequate temperature, lack of or insufficient electric light
|
Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
| 25. | 26445/19
17/04/2019 |
Oleg Pavlovich PETROV
1974 |
|
van
11/01/2019 to 27/02/2019
|
0.3 m²
|
overcrowding, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, no or restricted access to potable water
|
1,000 | |
| 26. | 38514/19
22/06/2019 |
Mikhail Sergeyevich REMORENKO
1980 |
|
train, transit cell, van
28/03/2017 to 22/05/2019 |
applicant transported on numerous occasions, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to running water, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, overcrowding, passive smoking, poor quality of food | Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
| 27. | 38700/19
02/07/2019 |
Gadzhi Khadzhimuradovich MAGOMEDOV
1991 |
|
train, transit cell, van
20/03/2019 to 05/04/2019 |
lack of fresh air, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, inadequate temperature, overcrowding | Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 | |
| 28. | 38725/19
04/07/2019 |
Aleksey Sergeyevich CHERNYSHEV
1992 |
|
train
03/03/2019 to 04/03/2019
train 24/03/2019 to 25/03/2019
train 28/03/2019 to 29/03/2019 |
0.4 m²
0.4 m²
0.4 m²
|
overcrowding, passive smoking, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, insufficient number of sleeping places
insufficient number of sleeping places, overcrowding, passive smoking, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of fresh air
insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, overcrowding, passive smoking |
1,000 | |
| 29. | 43038/19
29/07/2019 |
Dmitriy Sergeyevich LEBEDEV
1980 |
|
van, train
16/02/2019 to 25/02/2019 |
overcrowding, lack of ventilation, lack of or insufficient electric light, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, numerous occasions of transport, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen | Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport
|
1,000 | |
| 30. | 59469/19
14/06/2019 |
Vladislav Aleksandrovich SYROVATSKIY
1993 |
|
van
23/06/2018 to 10/01/2019 |
<0.5 m²
|
overcrowding, inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to toilet
|
Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport
|
1,000 |
| 31. | 20629/20
21/05/2020 |
Vyacheslav Viktorovich KAZANTSEV
1966 |
Dmitriy Olegovich Belov
Moscow |
van
12/12/2019 to 16/12/2019 |
0.2-0.3 m²
|
overcrowding, inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, no or restricted access to toilet
|
Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport | 1,000 |
[i] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
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