CASE OF MIKHAYLOV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA – 27315/19 and 50 others

Last Updated on February 1, 2024 by LawEuro

The applicants complained about their confinement in a metal cage in the courtroom during the criminal proceedings against them. Having regard to its case-law on the subject, the Court considers that in the instant case the applicants’ confinement in a metal cage before the court during the criminal proceedings against them amounted to degrading treatment. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.

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European Court of Human Rights
SECOND SECTION
CASE OF MIKHAYLOV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA
(Applications nos. 27315/19 and 50 others – see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
1 February 2024

This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.

In the case of Mikhaylov and Others v. Russia,

The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Lorraine Schembri Orland, President,
Frédéric Krenc,
Davor Derenčinović, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having deliberated in private on 11 January 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 various dates indicated in the appended table.

2. The Russian Government (“the Government”) were given notice of the applications.

THE FACTS

3. The list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.

4. The applicants complained about their confinement in a metal cage in the courtroom during the criminal proceedings against them. Some applicants also raised other complaints under the provisions 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 ARTICLEs 3 and 13 OF THE CONVENTION on account of confinement in a metal cage in the courtroom

7. The applicants complained principally about their confinement in a metal cage in the courtroom during the criminal proceedings against them. They relied on Article 3 of the Convention, which reads as follows:

“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

Some applicants also complained that they had not had an effective domestic remedy in respect of their grievance under Article 3, contrary to Article 13 of the Convention, which reads as follows:

“Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in [the] Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity.”

8. The Court notes that the applicants were kept a metal cage in the courtroom in the context of their trial. In the leading cases of Svinarenko and Slyadnev v. Russia [GC], nos. 32541/08 and 43441/08, ECHR 2014 (extracts), and Vorontsov and Others v. Russia, nos. 59655/14 and 2 others, 31 January 2017, the Court already dealt with the issue of the use of metal cages in courtrooms and found that such a practice constituted in itself an affront to human dignity and amounted to degrading treatment prohibited by Article 3 of the Convention.

9. 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’ confinement in a metal cage before the court during the criminal proceedings against them amounted to degrading treatment.

10. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.

11. In view of the above findings under Article 3 of the Convention, the Court considers that there is no need to deal separately with the applicants’ complaints under Article 13 of the Convention (for similar approach see Valyuzhenich v. Russia, no. 10597/13, § 27, 26 March 2019).

IV. OTHER ALLEGED VIOLATIONS UNDER WELL-ESTABLISHED CASE-LAW

122. Some applicants submitted other complaints which also raised issues under the Convention, given the relevant well-established case-law of the Court (see the appended table). 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 violations of the Convention in the light of its well-established case-law (see Sergey Babushkin v. Russia, no. 5993/08, 28 November 2013, concerning inadequate conditions of post-conviction detention; Idalov v. Russia [GC], no. 5826/03, §§ 103-08, 22 May 2012, and Tomov and Others v. Russia, nos. 18255/10 and 5 others, §§ 92-156, 9 April 2019, concerning inadequate conditions of transport and the lack of an effective remedy in that respect).

V. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION

13. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Vorontsov and Others, cited above), 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 on account of the applicants’ placement in a metal cage before the court during the criminal proceedings against them;

5. Holds that there has been a violation of the Convention as regards the other complaints raised under the well-established case-law of the Court (see the appended table);

6. Holds that it is not necessary to deal separately with the applicants’ complaints under Article 13 of the Convention related to the lack of an effective domestic remedy to complain about placement in a metal cage in courtrooms;

7. 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 period plus three percentage points.

Done in English, and notified in writing on 1 February 2024, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.

Viktoriya Maradudina                 Lorraine Schembri Orland
Acting Deputy Registrar                    President

_______________

APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention
(use of metal cages and/or other security arrangements in courtrooms)

No.	Application no. Date of introduction	Applicant’s name Year of birth	Representative’s name and location	Name of the court Date of the relevant judgment	Start date	End date	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.	27315/19 20/06/2019	Vladimir Aleksandrovich MIKHAYLOV 1976		Ingodinskiy District Court of Chita 08/02/2019	07/10/2018	08/02/2019	Art. 3 – inadequate conditions of detention during transport – single-prisoner cubicles in police vans between 07/10/2018 and 08/02/2019, 0.6 sq. m per person, no or restricted access to toilet, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient electric light, passive smoking	8,500
2.	28465/19 06/11/2019	Nikita Vitalyevich TURKIN 1990		Abakan Town Court of the Khakassia Republic 12/07/2019	04/06/2019	12/07/2019	Art. 3 – inadequate conditions of detention during transport – transit cell, from 04/06/2019 to 12/07/2019, overcrowding, 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	8,500
3.	29171/19 18/05/2019	Eldar Igorevich PENKO 1991	Petrov Roman Nikolayevich Cheboksary	Odintsovo Town Court 28/11/2018   Moscow Regional Court 22/01/2019	18/12/2017     22/01/2019	28/11/2018     22/01/2019		7,500
4.	29442/19 16/05/2019	Roman Yevgenyevich DORMIDONTOV 1990	Petrov Roman Nikolayevich Cheboksary	Kanavinskiy District Court of Nizhniy Novgorod 25/03/2019	06/03/2019	25/03/2019	Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport; Art. 3 – inadequate conditions of detention during transport – van, transit cell, on a number of occasions from 10/08/2018 to 25/03/2019, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or insufficient natural light, uncomfortable position during transfers in view of a small size of transport “glass”/ bio-toilet, no or restricted access to toilet	8,500
5.	29578/19 24/08/2019	Andrey Aleksandrovich MARTUS 1986		Sverdlovskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk, Tsentralnyy District Court of Krasnoyarsk 04/04/2019	12/12/2018	04/04/2019	Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport; Art. 3 – inadequate conditions of detention during transport – van, multiple roundtrips from SIZO-1 Krasnoyarsk to the Sovetskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk, between11/12/2018 and 29/10/2019, overcrowding, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, no or restricted access to potable water, inadequate temperature, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient electric light	8,500
6.	30234/19 13/05/2019	Vitaliy Gennadyevich USKOV 1972		Volgograd Regional Court 17/04/2019	17/04/2019	17/04/2019		7,500
7.	30333/19 23/05/2019	Sergey Aleksandrovich KUPAVTSEV 1989		Oktyabrskiy District Court of Barnaul Rubtsovsk Town Court 11/01/2019	26/10/2017	11/01/2019	Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport; Art. 3 – inadequate conditions of detention during transport – transport by van from the detention facility to take part in investigative actions or to attend court hearings; numerous occasions of transport, overcrowding, inadequate temperature; from 26/10/2017 to 11/01/2019	8,500
8.	31290/19 27/05/2019	Roman Petrovich PAVLENKO 1989		Vizinga District Court	19/02/2019	22/02/2019	Art. 3 – inadequate conditions of detention during transport – numerous occasions of transport from SIZO-1 Syktyvkar to Vizinga District Court, van; from 15/06/2018 to 22/02/2019; single-occupancy cubicle, lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to toilet	8,500
9.	32738/19 04/06/2019	Aleksandr Aleksandrovich SRIBNYY 1987	Koneva Nina Filippovna Khanty-Mansiysk	Nizhnevartovsk Town Court of Khanty-Mansy Autonomous Region – Yugra 21/03/2019	29/07/2018	21/03/2019		7,500
10.	32743/19 03/06/2019	German Romayevich SHOKUYEV 1993	Egle Denis Sergeyevich Krasnoyarsk	Zheleznodorozhnyy District Court of Chita; Zabaykalskiy Regional Court	22/07/2015	31/01/2019	Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport; Art. 3 – inadequate conditions of detention during transport – transport by van on a number of occasions between the detention facility and the courthouse from 22/07/2015 to 31/01/2019; 0.25 sq. m of personal space; restricted access to toilet	8,500
11.	32848/19 31/05/2019	Ivan Vladimirovich MAKARENKO 2000		Surgut Town Court 31/01/2019	24/10/2018	31/01/2019		7,500
12.	33397/19 08/06/2019	Sergey Nikolayevich KOZIN 1983		Kolomna Town Court of the Moscow Region 11/12/2018	07/08/2017	11/12/2018		7,500
13.	33786/19 06/06/2019	Sergey Andreyevich KANEV 1993		Ezhvinskiy District Court of Syktyvkar of the Komi Republic 10/12/2018	19/07/2018	10/12/2018		7,500
14.	34252/19 17/06/2019	Mikhail Yevgenyevich NIKONOV 1976	Petrov Roman Nikolayevich Cheboksary	Moskovskiy District Court of Nizhniy Novgorod, Nizhniy Novgorod Regional Court 20/03/2019	16/10/2018	20/03/2019		7,500
15.	36560/19 08/07/2019	Yevgeniy Anatolyevich VERESOV 1982		Petrozavodsk Town Court   Segezha Town Court of the Karelia Republic	17/06/2019     26/06/2019	17/06/2019     02/07/2019	Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport; Art. 3 – inadequate conditions of detention during transport – train, on a number of occasions between 13/05/2019 and 12/06/2019; overcrowding; passive smoking, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, no or restricted access to toilet	8,500
16.	36617/19 27/06/2019	Sergey Vladimirovich KONOVALOV 1995	Shirokov Oleg Valeryevich Nizhniy Tagil	Novouralsk Town Court of Sverdlovsk Region, Sverdlovsk Regional Court 22/03/2019	18/12/2018	22/03/2019		7,500
17.	38517/19 08/07/2019	Andrey Andreyevich TYUKAVKIN 1984		Priargunsk District Court of the Zabaykalskiy Region 14/02/2019	11/10/2018	14/02/2019		7,500
18.	39298/19 08/07/2019	Alina Sergeyevna KONDRASHOVA 1997		Ezhvinskiy District Court of Syktyvkar 29/05/2019	09/02/2018	29/05/2019		7,500
19.	39530/19 20/11/2019	Pavel Andreyevich BAKSHEYEV 1990		Oktyabrskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk 29/08/2019	27/12/2018	29/08/2019		7,500
20.	40349/19 14/07/2019	Nikita Valeryevich YARMOLENKO 1998	Sergeyeva Yelizaveta Alekseyevna Tyumen	Surgut Town Court 22/04/2019	14/09/2018	22/04/2019		7,500
21.	40350/19 14/07/2019	Ilya Stanislavovich KALINOV 1996	Sergeyeva Yelizaveta Alekseyevna Tyumen	Surgut Town Court 22/04/2019	14/09/2018	22/04/2019		7,500
22.	40871/19 18/07/2019	Ramis Zinatullovich ALLAGULOV 1988	Sergeyeva Yelizaveta Alekseyevna Tyumen	Tobolsk District Court of the Tyumen Region 25/03/2019	30/10/2018	25/03/2019		7,500
23.	41491/19 09/07/2019	Aris Nugzariyevich BARATOV 1988		Tsentralnyy District Court of Tyumen 26/02/2019	30/11/2018	26/02/2019		7,500
24.	41833/19 22/07/2019	Vladislav Vitalyevich SUGAKO 1995	Petrov Roman Nikolayevich Cheboksary	Tsentralnyy District Court of Samara 19/03/2019	05/12/2018	19/03/2019		7,500
25.	43787/19 11/10/2019	Yevgeniy Borisovich YEROFEYEV 1988		Pokhvistnevskiy District Court 19/07/2019	19/07/2019	19/07/2019		7,500
26.	44230/19 15/01/2020	Aleksey Igorevich BUSHKOVSKIY 1972	Belinskaya Marina Aleksandrovna St Petersburg	Gatchina Town Cout of the Leningrad Region; Leningrad Regional Court; St Petersburg City Court	10/11/2016	03/10/2019		7,500
27.	44644/19 26/07/2019	Oleg Vladimirovich MAYEV 1964	Petrov Roman Nikolayevich Cheboksary	Prikubanskiy District Court of Krasnodar 31/01/2019	21/09/2017	31/01/2019		7,500
28.	45179/19 06/08/2019	Aleksandr Sergeyevich ZHARIKOV 1989		Vorkuta Town Court 18/07/2019	07/12/2018	18/07/2019	Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport;   Art. 3 – inadequate conditions of detention during transport – train, from 29/05/2019 to 13/07/2019, 0.4 sq. m of personal space, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, insufficient number of sleeping places, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, not provided with warm meals, passive smoking, no ventilation, inadequate temperature, no or restricted access to toilet	8,500
29.	45388/19 13/08/2019	Svetlana Yevgenyevna MORAVSKAYA 1973	Sapov Yevgeniy Yuryevich Samara	Oktyabrskiy District Court of Samara	15/11/2018	17/08/2019		7,500
30.	45896/19 15/08/2019	Aleksandr Gennadyevich MAKARUSHKIN 1972	Shirokov Oleg Valeryevich Nizhniy Tagil	Verkhnesaldinskiy District Court of Verkhnyaya Salda; Sverdlovsk Regional Court 19/02/2019	23/08/2018	19/02/2019		7,500
31.	46542/19 20/08/2019	Vladimir Vladimirovich KATKOV 1992	Shirokov Oleg Valeryevich Nizhniy Tagil	Serovskiy District Court of the Sverdlovsk Region; Sverdlovsk Regional Court 18/06/2019	22/11/2018	18/06/2019		7,500
32.	47372/19 20/08/2019	Vitaliy Vladimirovich KATKOV 1989	Shirokov Oleg Valeryevich Nizhniy Tagil	Serovskiy District Court of the Sverdlovsk Region; Sverdlovsk Regional Court (by way of videoconference) 18/06/2019	12/10/2018	18/06/2019		7,500
33.	47573/19 07/08/2019	Viktor Nikolayevich RADOV 1980		Ezhvinskiy District Court of Syktyvkar 29/04/2019	29/04/2019	29/04/2019	Art. 3 – inadequate conditions of detention during transport – train, from 07/05/2019 to 08/05/2019, overcrowding, insufficient number of sleeping places, Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport	8,500
34.	47997/19 22/10/2019	Vitaliy Vladimirovich SERBAYEV 1971		Tsentralnyy District Court of Krasnoyarsk, Leninskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk, Krasnoyarsk Regional Court	09/10/2017	23/04/2019		7,500
35.	48197/19 29/08/2019	Roman Sergeyevich RUSSKIKH 1992		Lesosibirsk Town Court of the Krasnoyarsk Region 26/03/2019	11/10/2018	26/03/2019		7,500
36.	48600/19 26/08/2019	Dmitriy Aleksandrovich LOGUNOV 1984		Ezhvinskiy District Court of Syktyvkar, Komi Republic 05/06/2019	05/06/2019	05/06/2019	Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport; Art. 3 – inadequate conditions of detention during transport – single-occupancy compartment in a van from 05/06/2019 to 16/09/2019; lack of space; 0.35 sq. m of personal space	8,500
37.	48909/19 04/08/2019	Vladimir Vladimirovich GORAK 2000	Sergeyeva Yelizaveta Alekseyevna Tyumen	Surgut Town Court 04/03/2019	28/12/2018	04/03/2019		7,500
38.	48952/19 30/09/2019	Artem Yuryevich ALEKSANDROV 1987		Oktyabrskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk	07/03/2019	29/07/2019		7,500
39.	49638/19 09/09/2019	Yelena Nikolayevna VOLKOVA 1989		Perm Regional Court (by means of video link from settlement colony no. 26 Perm Region) 17/09/2019	21/03/2019	17/09/2019		7,500
40.	50042/19 12/09/2019	Sergey Aleksandrovich PURGIN 1986		Berezovskiy District Court of the Krasnoyarsk Region 12/07/2019	27/04/2018	12/07/2019		7,500
41.	52530/19 28/01/2020	Ruslan Nikolayevich SHATKO 1988		Zheleznodorozhnyy District Court of Krasnoyarsk, Krasnoyarsk Regional Court (by way of video conference from a metal cage in the detention facility) 12/11/2019	08/01/2019	12/11/2019		7,500
42.	52822/19 19/09/2019	Sergey Aleksandrovich PISHCHUK 1968		Novosibirsk District Court of the Novosibirsk Region, Novosibirsk Regional Court, Tsentralnyy District Court of Novosibirsk 21/08/2019	26/05/2017	21/08/2019	Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport; Art. 3 – inadequate conditions of detention during transport – inhuman conditions in vans in single‑occupancy compartments of 0.3 sq. m and in convoy cells between 26/05/2017 -16/09/2019, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, no ventilation, lack or inadequate furniture, passive smoking	8,500
43.	54228/19 02/10/2019	Artem Viktorovich SALTANOV 1975	Matytsin Igor Viktorovich Krasnoyarsk	Sverdlovskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk 26/04/2019	25/02/2019	26/04/2019		7,500
44.	55222/19 02/10/2019	Yuriy Aleksandrovich ANDREYEV 1976		Oktyabrskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk 13/06/2019	23/01/2019	13/06/2019		7,500
45.	55503/19 07/10/2019	Dmitriy Yuryevich ZEMLYANUKHIN 1973		Justice of the Peace, Gornyatskiy District, Vorkuta 20/05/2019	17/04/2019	20/05/2019	Art. 3 – inadequate conditions of detention during transport – train, from 29/07/2019 to 31/07/2019, lack of fresh air, insufficient number of sleeping places, no or restricted access to potable water, overcrowding, poor quality of potable water, no or restricted access to toilet, lack of ventilation; Art. 13 – lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention during transport; Art. 3 – inadequate conditions of detention after conviction – in IK-19 Komi Republic, 31/07/2019, pending as of 16/09/2022; 2 sq. m. of personal space; lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, constant electric light, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, poor quality of food, poor quality of potable water, overcrowding, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to shower	15,100
46.	55530/19 12/10/2019	Igor Vladimirovich MAZHARA 1990	Sergeyeva Yelizaveta Alekseyevna Tyumen	Surgut Town Court 15/04/2019	29/08/2018	15/04/2019		7,500
47.	55743/19 08/10/2019	Pavel Alekseyevich YEREMEYEV 1992	Petrov Roman Nikolayevich Cheboksary	Moscovskiy District Court of Cheboksary; Video link from SIZO-1, Chuvashia Republic 21/05/2019 Supreme Court of the Chuvashia Republic; Video link from SIZO-1, Chuvashia Republic 30/07/2019	01/04/2019           30/07/2019	21/05/2019           30/07/2019		7,500
48.	55904/19 12/10/2019	Aleksey Igorevich NASTALSKIY 1989		Megion Town Court of the Khanty-Many Autonomous Region – Yugra 01/07/2019	06/07/2018	01/07/2019		7,500
49.	56851/19 21/10/2019	Ilya Dmitriyevich SOLOVAROV 1994	Shirokov Oleg Valeryevich Nizhniy Tagil	Serovskiy District Court of the Sverdlovsk Region, Sverdlovsk Regional Court 21/05/2019	04/05/2018	21/05/2019		7,500
50.	58396/19 06/02/2020	Vyacheslav Vyacheslavovich KUZNETSOV 1997	Isayev Ayndi Khamzatovich Krasnoyarsk	Krasnoyarsk Regional Court, Sovetskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk 07/10/2019	06/08/2019	07/10/2019	Art. 3 – inadequate conditions of detention during transport – van and detention in a convoy cell at the Krasnoyarsk Regional Court between 06/08/2019 and 17/12/2019 with 0.2 sq. m per inmate, inadequate temperature, overcrowding, no ventilation, mouldy or dirty cell, passive smoking, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of privacy for toilet, lack or insufficient quantity of food	8,500
51.	58699/19 02/12/2019	Anton Valeryevich VNUKOV 1998		Tsentralnyy District Court of Krasnoyarsk; Zheleznodorozhnyy District Court of Krasnoyarsk	21/09/2018	06/09/2019		7,500

[i] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.