FIFTH SECTION
\nCASE OF YERYOMENKO AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE
\n(Application no. 59600\/19 and 2 others \u2013 see appended list)
\nJUDGMENT
\nSTRASBOURG
\n16 September 2021<\/p>\n
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.<\/p>\n
In the case of Yeryomenko and Others v. Ukraine,<\/strong><\/p>\n The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:<\/p>\n St\u00e9phanie Mourou-Vikstr\u00f6m, President, Having deliberated in private on 26 August 2021,<\/p>\n Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:<\/p>\n PROCEDURE<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. The case originated in applications against Ukraine lodged with the Court under Article\u00a034 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (\u201cthe Convention\u201d) on the various dates indicated in the appended table.<\/p>\n 2. The applicants were represented by Mr\u00a0A.V.\u00a0Pustyntsev, a lawyer practising in Dnipro.<\/p>\n 3. The Ukrainian Government (\u201cthe Government\u201d) were given notice of the applications.<\/p>\n THE FACTS<\/strong><\/p>\n 4. The list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.<\/p>\n 5. The applicants complained of the inadequate conditions of their detention and of the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law. The applicants also raised other complaints under the provisions of the Convention.<\/p>\n THE LAW<\/strong><\/p>\n I. JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS<\/p>\n 6. Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.<\/p>\n II. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLES\u00a03 AND\u00a013 OF THE CONVENTION<\/p>\n 7. The applicants complained principally of the inadequate conditions of their detention and that they had no effective remedy in this connection. They relied on Articles\u00a03 and\u00a013 of the Convention, which read as follows:<\/p>\n Article 3<\/p>\n \u201cNo one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n Article 13<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in this Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority …\u201d<\/p>\n 8. The Court notes that the applicants were kept in detention in poor conditions. The details of the applicants\u2019 detention are indicated in the appended table. The Court refers to the principles established in its case\u2011law regarding inadequate conditions of detention (see, for instance, Mur\u0161i\u0107 v.\u00a0Croatia [GC], no.\u00a07334\/13, \u00a7\u00a7\u00a096\u2011101, ECHR\u00a02016). It reiterates in particular that a serious lack of space in a prison cell weighs heavily as a factor to be taken into account for the purpose of establishing whether the detention conditions described are \u201cdegrading\u201d from the point of view of Article\u00a03 and may disclose a violation, both alone or taken together with other shortcomings (see Mur\u0161i\u0107, cited above, \u00a7\u00a7\u00a0122\u2011141, and Ananyev and\u00a0Others v.\u00a0Russia, nos.\u00a042525\/07 and 60800\/08, \u00a7\u00a7\u00a0149\u2011159, 10\u00a0January 2012).<\/p>\n 9. In the leading cases of Melnik v.\u00a0Ukraine (no.\u00a072286\/01, 28\u00a0March 2006) and Sukachov v.\u00a0Ukraine (no.\u00a014057\/17, 30 January 2020) the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.<\/p>\n 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\u2019 conditions of detention were inadequate.<\/p>\n 11. The Court further notes that the applicants did not have at their disposal an effective remedy in respect of these complaints.<\/p>\n 12. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention.<\/p>\n III. OTHER ALLEGED VIOLATIONS UNDER WELL-ESTABLISHED CASE-LAW<\/p>\n 13. The applicants submitted other complaints which also raised issues under the Convention, given the relevant well-established case-law of the Court (see appended table). These complaints are not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article\u00a035\u00a0\u00a7\u00a03\u00a0(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 findings in Kharchenko v.\u00a0Ukraine (no. 40107\/02, \u00a7 80, 10 February 2011), Ignatov v. Ukraine (no.\u00a040583\/15, 15\u00a0December\u00a02016), Tymoshenko v.\u00a0Ukraine (no. 49872\/11, \u00a7\u00a7 286-287, 30 April 2013), and Kotiy v.\u00a0Ukraine (no. 28718\/09, \u00a7 55, 5 March 2015).<\/p>\n IV. REMAINING COMPLAINTS<\/p>\n 14. In applications nos.\u00a059600\/19 and 23891\/20, the applicants also raised other complaints under various Articles of the Convention.<\/p>\n 15. The Court has examined the applications listed in the appended table and considers that, in the light of all the material in its possession and in so far as the matters complained of are within its competence, these complaints either do not meet the admissibility criteria set out in Articles\u00a034 and\u00a035 of the Convention or do not disclose any appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Convention or the Protocols thereto.<\/p>\n It follows that this part of the applications must be rejected in accordance with Article\u00a035\u00a0\u00a7\u00a04 of the Convention.<\/p>\n V. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE\u00a041 OF THE CONVENTION<\/p>\n 16. Article\u00a041 of the Convention provides:<\/p>\n \u201cIf 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 17. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case\u2011law (see, in particular, Sukachov, cited above, \u00a7\u00a7\u00a0165 and 167), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.<\/p>\n 18. The Court considers it appropriate that the default interest rate should be based on the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank, to which should be added three percentage points.<\/p>\n FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. Decides to join the applications;<\/p>\n 2. Declares the complaints concerning the inadequate conditions of detention, the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in that regard and the other complaints under well-established case-law of the Court, as set out in the appended table, admissible\u00a0and the remainder of applications nos.\u00a059600\/19 and 23891\/20 inadmissible;<\/p>\n 3. Holds that these complaints disclose a breach of Articles\u00a03 and 13 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention and absence of an effective domestic remedy in this regard;<\/p>\n 4. Holds that there has been a violation of the Convention as regards the other complaints raised under well-established case-law of the Court (see appended table);<\/p>\n 5. Holds<\/p>\n (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;<\/p>\n (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.<\/p>\n Done in English, and notified in writing on 16 September 2021, pursuant to Rule\u00a077\u00a0\u00a7\u00a7\u00a02 and\u00a03 of the Rules of Court.<\/p>\n Viktoriya Maradudina \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0St\u00e9phanie Mourou-Vikstr\u00f6m ________<\/p>\n APPENDIX<\/strong><\/p>\n List of applications raising complaints under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention<\/strong><\/p>\n (inadequate conditions of detention and lack of any effective remedy in domestic law)<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nJovan Ilievski,
\nMattias Guyomar, judges,
\nand Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,<\/p>\n
\nActing Deputy Registrar \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 President<\/p>\n