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Rozsudek

FOURTH SECTION

CASE OF APETRE AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA

(Application no. 32526/16 and 9 others –

see appended list)

JUDGMENT

This judgment was revised in accordance with Rule 80 of the Rules of Court in a judgment of 25 May 2023

STRASBOURG

25 May 2022

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


In the case of Apetre and Others v. Romania,

The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:

Armen Harutyunyan, President,
Jolien Schukking,
Ana Maria Guerra Martins, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having deliberated in private on 5 May 2022,

Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:

PROCEDURE

1. The case originated in applications against Romania 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 Romanian 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 of the inadequate conditions of their detention.

THE LAW

  1. 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.

  1. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 3 OF THE CONVENTION

6. The applicants complained principally of the inadequate conditions of their detention. They relied on Article 3 of the Convention, which reads as follows:

Article 3

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

7. The Government raised a preliminary objection concerning loss of victim status by the applicants for the periods of detention specified in the appended table because they were afforded adequate redress based on Law no. 169/2017 amending and completing Law no. 254/2013 on the execution of sentences for those specific periods of detention.

8. The Court notes that the domestic remedy introduced in respect of inadequate conditions of detention in Romania and applicable until December 2019 was held to be an effective one in the case of Dîrjan and Ştefan v. Romania ((dec.), nos. 14224/15 and 50977/15, §§ 23-33, 15 April 2020). This remedy was available to the applicants in the present applications, and they were, indeed, afforded adequate redress for certain periods of detention (for details see the appended table).

9. Therefore, the Court accepts the Government’s objection and finds that these parts of the applications are incompatible ratione personae with the provisions of the Convention and must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 (a) and 4 of the Convention.

10. Turning to the remaining periods of the applicants’ detention as specified in the appended table, the Court notes that the applicants were kept in detention in poor conditions. The details of the applicants’ detention are indicated in the appended table. The Court refers to the principles established in its caselaw regarding inadequate conditions of detention (see, for instance, Muršić v. Croatia [GC], no. 7334/13, §§ 96101, ECHR 2016). 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 “degrading” from the point of view of Article 3 and may disclose a violation, both alone or taken together with other shortcomings (see Muršić, cited above, §§ 12241, and Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 14959, 10 January 2012).

11. In the leading case of Rezmiveș and Others v. Romania (nos. 61467/12 and 3 others, 25 April 2017), the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.

12. 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, (including its findings in the recent case of Polgar v Romania, no. 39412/19, §§ 94-97, 20 July 2021), the Court considers that in the instant case the applicants’ conditions of detention, as described in the appended table below, were inadequate.

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

  1. REMAINING COMPLAINTS

14. In applications nos. 38868/16, 41603/16, 67062/16, 78197/16, 79/17 and 2426/17, the applicants also raised other complaints under Article 3 of the Convention.

15. The Court has examined these complaints 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 34 and 35 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.

It follows that this part of the abovementioned applications must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention.

  1. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION

16. 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.”

17. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its caselaw (see, in particular, Rezmiveș and Others, cited above), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.

18. The Court further 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.

FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,

  1. Decides to join the applications;
  2. Declares the complaints concerning the inadequate conditions of detention, for the periods specified in the appended table, admissible, and the remainder of the applications inadmissible;
  3. Holds that these complaints disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention for the periods specified in the appended table below;
  4. 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 25 May 2022, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.

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

Facility

Start and end date

Duration

Sq. m per inmate

Specific grievances

Domestic compensation awarded (in days)

based on total period calculated domestically

Amount awarded for pecuniary and nonpecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros) [1]

32526/16

31/05/2016

Iuliana APETRE

1966

Salonta Police Station; Bihor County Police Station; Oradea,

Ploiești - Târgușorul Nou and Arad Prisons

19/03/2008 to

18/07/2011

3 year(s) and 4 month(s)

Arad Prison

26/07/2011 to

05/07/2012

11 month(s) and 10 day(s)

Arad Prison

13/07/2012 to

23/07/2012

11 day(s)

Gherla Prison

14/12/2019

pending

More than 2 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 11 day(s)

1.82 - 1.85 m²

passive smoking, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of toiletries

overcrowding (save for the period 24/02/2012 - 23/07/2012)

534 days in compensation for a total period of 2,676 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 13/12/2019 in Arad and Gherla Prisons

5,000

35741/16

07/06/2016

Alexandru HORVATH

1983

Arad County Police Station and Arad Prison

12/06/2015 to

04/05/2017

1 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 23 day(s)

-

lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of toiletries, infestation of cell with insects/rodents

90 days in compensation for a total period of 467 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 04/05/2017 to 14/08/2018 in Timișoara Prison

3,000

35804/16

11/07/2016

Laurențiu GRIGORAȘ

1986

Bacău, Giurgiu, Bucharest - Rahova, Iași, Galați, Constanța - Poarta Albă and Arad Prisons

19/02/2008 to

23/07/2012

4 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 5 day(s)

1.64 - 2.87 m²

overcrowding (save for the periods 24-27/03/2009, 12/08/2010 - 22/11/2010 and 07/05/2012 - 05/06/2012), infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen

522 days in compensation for the period of detention spent in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 04/12/2019, including all the periods spent in Iași, Galați and Tulcea Prisons

3,000

38868/16

27/07/2016

Gabriel

CRISTEA-STĂNCUNĂ

1972

Bucharest - Jilava Prison

20/12/2019

pending

More than 2 year(s) and 3 month(s)

-

overcrowding, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents

258 days in compensation for a total period of 1,306 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 24/12/2015 to 19/12/2019, including all the periods spent in Bucharest - Rahova and Bucharest - Jilava Prisons

3,000

41603/16

07/11/2016

Felician-Vasile GHERGHEL

1960

Gherla Prison

02/11/2007 to

23/07/2012

4 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 22 day(s)

1.35 - 2.57 m²

overcrowding (save for the period 26/04/2009 - 25/06/2012), lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, mouldy or dirty cell, poor quality of food, infestation of cell with insects/rodents

450 days in compensation for a total period of 2,251 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 24/07/2012 to 27/11/2018, including all the periods spent in Gherla Prison

3,000

47047/16

06/02/2017

Gicu SÎMBETEANU

1963

Codlea Prison

24/12/2019

pending

More than 2 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 1 day(s)

2 m²

overcrowding, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to shower

282 days in compensation for the period of 1,461 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 30/09/2015 to 23/12/2019, including all the periods spent in Brașov County Police Station, Codlea and Miercurea Ciuc Prisons

3,000

67062/16

04/12/2016

Petru-Pavel ANTI

1985

Iași County Police Station; Iași, Timișoara, Arad, Bucharest - Rahova and Giurgiu Prisons

10/04/2006 to

28/11/2014

8 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 19 day(s)

Bucharest - Rahova, Giurgiu and Iași Prisons

05/12/2014 to

09/10/2015

10 month(s) and 5 day(s)

Iași, Giurgiu, Mărgineni and Bacău Prisons

15/10/2015 to

12/09/2016

10 month(s) and 29 day(s)

Iași and Mărgineni Prisons

24/12/2019 to

28/02/2022

2 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 5 day(s)

1.26 - 2.33 m²

overcrowding (save for multiple short periods between 27/01/2016 and 09/09/2016), lack or inadequate furniture, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient quantity of food

234 days in compensation for a total period of 1,181 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions from 13/09/2016 to 23/12/2019 in Bacău, Mărgineni, Bucharest - Rahova and Iași Prisons

5,000

78197/16

03/02/2017

Nicolae-Alin BRATIMA

1970

Dej Prison Hospital

19/12/2013 to

23/12/2013

5 day(s)

Dej Prison Hospital

29/04/2015 to

04/05/2015

6 day(s)

Gherla Prison and

Dej Prison Hospital

04/07/2015 to

10/07/2015

7 day(s)

Dej Prison Hospital; Gherla and Aiud Prisons

29/07/2015 to

03/09/2015

1 month(s) and 6 day(s)

Aiud and Gherla Prisons; Dej Prison Hospital

23/10/2015 to

17/03/2016

4 month(s) and 24 day(s)

Dej Prison Hospital

17/05/2016 to

30/05/2016

14 day(s)

Dej Prison Hospital

07/10/2016 to

02/11/2016

27 day(s)

Gherla Prison

08/11/2016 to

24/11/2016

17 day(s)

Gherla and Aiud Prisons

06/12/2016 to

25/04/2017

4 month(s) and 20 day(s)

Gherla, Aiud and Oradea Prisons

02/05/2017 to

20/04/2018

11 month(s) and 19 day(s)

Oradea and Gherla Prisons; Dej Prison Hospital

23/04/2018 to

19/07/2018

2 month(s) and 27 day(s)

Oradea Prison

11/09/2018 to

16/10/2018

1 month(s) and 6 day(s)

Dej Prison Hospital; Oradea and Aiud Prisons

25/10/2018 to

24/04/2019

6 month(s)

-

overcrowding (save for some of the periods mentioned in column no 4), no or restricted access to warm water, lack of fresh air, poor quality of potable water, lack of or insufficient natural light

252 days in compensation for a total period of 1,285 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions between 24/07/2012 and 23/12/2019, including for the detention spent in Aiud, Gherla and Oradea Prisons, with the exception of the periods indicated in column no. 4

3,000

79/17

13/02/2017

Florin PĂTLĂGICĂ

1976

Botoșani Prison

25 periods

during 01/09/2016 and 31/12/2020

1 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 22 day(s)

1.84 - 2.85 m²

overcrowding (save for the periods 21/02/2020 - 10/03/2020 and 23/06/2020 - 07/08/2020), poor quality of food, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen

246 days in compensation for a total period of 1,251 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions between 06/09/2013 and 23/12/2019, including for the detention spent in Vaslui and Botoșani Prisons, with the exception of the periods indicated in column no. 4

3,000

2426/17

02/02/2017

Lucian TURBATU

1958

Mărgineni and Ploiești (Ploiești-Berceni) Prisons

12/06/2009 to

23/07/2012

3 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 12 day(s)

1.39 - 1.59 m²

overcrowding, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, poor quality of food

396 days in compensation for a total period of 2,008 days spent in detention in inadequate conditions between 24/07/2012 and 22/01/2018, covering all the detention spent in Mărgineni and Ploiești Prisons

3,000


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