6.  The applicant was born in 1975 in Vladikavkaz, the Republic of North Ossetia‑Alania. He is currently detained in correctional colony no. 1 in Vladikavkaz (“the correctional colony”).
7.  On 21 January 2013 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking and taken to remand prison no. 20/1 in Grozny, the Chechen Republic (“the remand prison”).
8.  On 17 July 2014 the Gudermes Town Court of the Chechen Republic convicted him as charged and sentenced him to thirteen years’ imprisonment.
9.  During a medical check-up upon his admission to the remand prison, a doctor noted an area of pigmentation on the applicant’s face and ordered a biopsy. The test, performed on 27 February 2013 at the Regional Cancer Hospital in Grozny, revealed melanoma, a type of skin cancer. Radiotherapy and surgery were prescribed.
10.  Such treatment was considered advanced medical care, which could only be provided under a special programme in limited numbers. On 16 September 2013 a medical panel of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Chechen Republic offered that programme to the applicant.
11.  In October and November 2013 he was transferred to the Regional Cancer Hospital in Rostov (“the cancer hospital”). He was examined and informed that the cancerous tumour could be removed, but he refused the treatment.
12.  On 3 June 2014 the applicant was examined at the Rostov Institute of Cancer Research (“the cancer institute”). Surgical removal of the melanoma was recommended. It appears that several further consultations had been planned to take place at the facility, but the detention authorities failed to ensure his presence.
13.  On 20 June and 5 September 2014 a panel of doctors from the сancer hospital repeatedly recommended surgical removal of the melanoma. The applicant agreed to the treatment, but several days later withdrew his consent, saying that he had no confidence in the doctors practising in the Chechen Republic.
14.  On 22 September 2014 the applicant was admitted to the Town Hospital in Groznyy for cancer surgery, but refused it the next day as he had no confidence in the doctors.
15.  At the end of December 2014 he was moved from the remand prison to the correctional colony, where he had to serve his sentence.
16.  On 2 April 2015 a further biopsy showed that the applicant’s tumour showed a moderate-stage basal cell carcinoma, another type of skin cancer. Given the extent to which the tumour had spread, reconstructive facial surgery was recommended.
17.  Several days later, after realising that the tumour had grown, the applicant gave his written consent to the prescribed surgery.
18.  The detention authorities contacted the cancer hospital with a view to arranging the treatment.
19.  On 6 April 2015 the head of the cancer hospital informed the detention authorities that the medical institution was unable to perform such complex surgery.
20.  On 27 October 2015 the applicant applied for early release from detention on medical grounds. On 23 November 2015 the Promyshlenniy District Court of Vladikavkaz refused to examine the application on the merits, because his illness was not included in Government Decree no. 54 of 6 February 2004 setting out a list of illnesses warranting early release. Under the Decree, only patients with end-stage cancer could apply for early release on health grounds.
21.  On 11 January 2016 the applicant lodged a request for interim measures under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, complaining of his inability to undergo the complex cancer surgery vitally needed in his situation.
22.  On 25 January 2016 the Court indicated to the Russian Government, under Rule 39, that it was desirable in the interests of the proper conduct of the proceedings that the applicant be immediately examined by medical experts independent from the penal system with a view to determining: (i) whether he had been receiving adequate medical care; (ii) whether his current state of health was compatible with detention in the correctional colony; and (iii) whether his state of health called for urgent surgery and/or for a transfer to an appropriate civilian or prison hospital. Furthermore, the Government were also asked to ensure the applicant’s transfer to such a relevant hospital for surgery, should the medical experts conclude that urgent surgery in a hospital was required.
23.  On 4 March 2016 the Government responded to a letter from the Court dated 25 January 2016, stating that the applicant’s transfer to a hospital for surgery was scheduled for 10 March 2016. They also submitted the following: a document setting out the periods of the applicant’s detention in custody, a document concerning the conditions of his detention, a report issued by the detention authorities on his current state of health, original and typed copies of his medical file, and copies of correspondence between the medical and detention authorities discussing surgery for the applicant.
24.  Ten days later the applicant was transferred to prison medical unit no. 61 in Rostov-on-Don (“the prison medical unit”) for surgery. In that facility he was examined by a civilian oncologist, who confirmed that facial surgery was required. According to a letter from the head of the medical unit dated 14 April 2016, the facility was unable to carry any surgery out as its surgical unit was undergoing renovation.
25.  Having learned of the inability of the medical unit to provide the applicant with the required treatment, the detention authorities asked the cancer institute to perform the surgery. The request was refused due to a lack of appropriate security measures at the institution. However, the hospital was ready to sign an agreement with the detention authorities and send a surgeon to a prison medical unit to operate on the applicant.
26.  It appears that in response to the steps taken by the detention authorities to ensure surgery for the applicant by a civilian cancer surgeon, on 31 May 2016 he refused the treatment. The following day he was discharged from the medical unit and returned to the correctional colony.
27.  On 6 October 2016 the applicant agreed to the treatment in a cancer hospital. The detention authorities started organising his transfer to a hospital in the Krasnodar Region. The parties have not submitted information about any further developments in the case.