Přehled
Rozhodnutí
FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 20359/20
João Miguel SARREIRA ALBUQUERQUE against Portugal
and 3 other applications
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 6 October 2022 as a Committee composed of:
Armen Harutyunyan, President,
Jolien Schukking,
Ana Maria Guerra Martins, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table,
Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent Government and the observations in reply submitted by the applicants,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The list of applicants is set out in the appended table.
The applicants’ complaints under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention and the lack of an effective remedy in this respect were communicated to the Portuguese Government (“the Government”).
THE LAW
- Joinder of the applications
Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.
- Complaints under Article 3 of the Convention (inadequate conditions of detention)
In the present applications, having examined all the material before it, the Court considers that for the reasons stated below, the complaints about the conditions of detention are inadmissible.
- Conditions of detention concerning the last period of detention
The applicants were detained in different prison facilities. During their last, most recent and/or current period of detention, the applicants were detained at Alcoentre Prison (application no. 20359/20), Carregueira Prison (applications nos. 46240/20 and 26363/20) and Pinheiro da Cruz Prison (application no. 28884/20).
Having regard to all of the available material and the parties’ arguments, the Court finds that it cannot be established that the applicants suffered in these prison facilities from severe overcrowding of the kind that could entail, on its own, a violation of Article 3 (see Muršić v. Croatia [GC], no. 7334/13, 20 October 2016) nor can it be found that the cumulative effect of the other aspects of the detention which the applicants complained about reached the threshold of severity required to characterise the treatment as inhuman or degrading within the meaning of Article 3 (see Bokor v. Portugal, no. 5227/18, § 32-34, 10 December 2020).
In view of the above, the Court finds that the complaints related to these periods of the applicants’ detention (for further details see the appended table) are manifestly ill-founded and must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 and 4 of the Convention.
- Conditions of detention before their last prison transfer
Concerning application no. 28884/20, in light of the conclusion above, the Court finds that the applicant’s transfer to the last prison facility interrupted the “continuing situation” of detention. Therefore, the applicant’s complaints concerning the conditions of his detention during the period prior to his last prison transfer are belated (see Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 75-78, 10 January 2012) and must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 1 and 4 of the Convention.
- Complaints under Article 13 (lack of effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention)
Under Article 13 of the Convention, the applicants also complained of the lack of an effective remedy in respect of their conditions of detention. The Court notes that, according to its established case-law, Article 13 of the Convention applies only where an individual has an “arguable claim” to be the victim of a violation of a Convention right (see Boyle and Rice v. the United Kingdom, 27 April 1988, § 52, Series A no. 131, and Narcisio v. Netherlands (dec.), no. 47810/99, 27 January 2005). Having regard to the findings above as to the applicants’ complaints under Article 3 of the Convention, the Court concludes that they are not “arguable” for the purposes of Article 13. It follows that this complaint must also be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 and 4 of the Convention.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to join the applications;
Declares the applications inadmissible.
Done in English and notified in writing on 27 October 2022.
Viktoriya Maradudina Armen Harutyunyan
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention
(inadequate conditions of detention)
No. | Application no. Date of introduction | Applicant’s name Year of birth | Representative’s name and location | Facility Start and end date Duration | Sq. m per inmate | Specific grievances | Other complaints under well-established case-law |
20359/20 04/05/2020 | João Miguel SARREIRA ALBUQUERQUE 1973 | Vítor Carreto Torres Vedras | Alcoentre Prison 03/10/2019 to 30/08/2020 10 months and 28 days Alcoentre Prison 30/08/2020 to 04/11/2020 2 months and 6 days | 1 inmate 4.81-8.9 m² 1 toilet 2 inmates 8.9 m² 1 toilet | lack or insufficient quantity of food Idem | Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention. | |
26365/20 16/06/2020 | João RIBEIRO JOSÉ 1945 | Vítor Carreto Torres Vedras | Carregueira Prison 07/04/2016 to 05/09/2016 4 months and 30 days Carregueira Prison 05/09/2016 to 22/06/2021 4 years and 9 months and 18 days Carregueira Prison 22/06/2021 pending More than 1 year and 2 months and 19 days | 6 inmates 5.12 m² 1 toilet 5 inmates 6.14 m² 1 toilet 3 inmates 8 m² 1 toilet | lack of fresh air Idem Idem | Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention. | |
28884/20 07/07/2020 | Bento Manuel ARSÉNIO PEREIRA 1969 | Vítor Carreto Torres Vedras | Setúbal Prison 30/11/2001 to 06/06/2002 6 months and 8 days Beja Prison 06/06/2002 to 10/11/2008 6 years and 5 months and 5 days Lisbon Central Prison 10/11/2008 to 28/10/2010 1 year and 11 months and 19 days Pinheiro da Cruz Prison 28/10/2010 pending More than 11 years and 10 months and 10 days | 3 inmates 1.667 m² 1 toilet 7 inmates 1,57 m² 1 toilet 2 inmates 3 m² 1 toilet 1 inmate 5.55 m² 1 toilet | overcrowding overcrowding overcrowding poor quality of food, sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease | Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention. | |
46240/20 13/10/2020 | Casimiro JOSÉ FERREIRA 1958 | Vítor Carreto Torres Vedras | Carregueira Prison 18/08/2015 to 26/08/2015 9 days Carregueira Prison 26/08/2015 to 09/03/2017 1 year and 6 months and 12 days Carregueira Prison 09/03/2017 to 20/04/2018 1 year and 1 month and 12 days Carregueira Prison 20/04/2018 to 01/01/2019 8 months and 13 days Carregueira Prison 01/01/2019 pending More than 3 years and 8 months and 8 days | 1 inmate 7.7 m² 1 toilet 5 inmates 6.14 m² 1 toilet 5 inmates 6.76 m² 1 toilet 5 inmates 6.76 m² 1 toilet 6 inmates 5.12 m² 1 toilet | poor quality of food, sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease Idem Idem Idem Idem | Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of inadequate conditions of detention. |