The ECHR considered the applications of seven residents of Mari El Republic about ill-treatment in the colony of Yoshkar-Ola. Five of the applicants will receive 20 000 euros in compensation

On 15 June, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia should pay compensation to five of the seven applicants who had complained of ill-treatment. Each of them will receive 4 thousand euros.

Beating: the position of the applicants

Seven applicants were serving their sentences in the colony No. 6 of Yoshkar-Ola. These were Mr. Zagainov, Golovin, Kondratev, Kuznetsov, Maltsev, Vecherov and Yakovlev.

At about 8 am on 20 December 2005, according to them, the employees of the colony and a special purpose detachment “Hawk” took them out of the cells to the street, not allowing them to put on winter clothes. They were beaten with rubber batons and kicked. The jailers forced them to stand against the wall with their legs spread and kept them in this position for two hours.

The response of the authorities

The authorities reported that prison officers entered the applicants’ cells and ordered them to vacate the premises for inspection. The prisoners refused. The employees repeated the order and threatened to use force. The applicants resisted and tried to hit the employees, and they stopped them with batons.

Then the colony employees drew up a protocol on the use of force against five prisoners (all except Golovin and Vecherov), as well as protocols for each separately. They said that the employees used force after repeated warnings.

The protocols indicated the nature of the injuries.

Medical examination

The doctor on duty conducted a medical examination on the same day (20 December). Zagainov had abrasions in the area of the left shoulder blade and on the left buttock. Kondratev had an abrasion on his right thigh, a bruise on his upper lip. Maltsev had an abrasion on his left thigh. Kuznetsov had two abrasions on the backs of his thighs, and Yakovlev — in the area of the right shoulder blade and on the surface of the right thigh.

The protocols of the colony staff indicated the facts of the use of batons to these five prisoners.

Regarding Golovin and Vecherov, there were no indications of injuries or requests for help in the medical documents.

Investigation

On 20 December 2005, the applicants filed a complaint of ill-treatment with NGO “Man and Law”. We sent their complaint to the prosecutor’s office.

On 16 March 2006, the prosecutor refused to open a criminal case. He referred to the explanations given by the applicants and officials. In his decision, the prosecutor pointed out that physical force was used justifiably against the prisoners, since they refused to obey the legal requirements of the colony’s employees.

The decision stated that five of the above-mentioned prisoners had undergone a forensic examination, which confirmed their injuries.

There was no conclusion about the alleged refusal of prisoners to wear winter clothes in the prosecutor’s decision.

The applicants filed an appeal to the Yoshkar-Ola City Court against the refusal to initiate a case. On 16 June 2006, the court rejected it, and also indicated that the applicants were allowed to wear winter clothes.

On 9 August 2006, the Supreme Court of Mari El Republic upheld this decision.

ECHR decision

The ECHR ruled that the Article 3 of the Convention on Human Rights (prohibition of torture) was violated against five applicants (Zagainov, Kuznetsov, Yakovlev, Kondratev and Maltsev) in its substantive and legal aspect “in connection with the inhuman and degrading treatment to which they were subjected”, as well as in the procedural aspect (the Government of the Russian Federation did not conduct an effective investigation of the facts of violence against prisoners).

The Russian Federation must pay each of the applicants 4 thousand euros within three months from the date of the decision.