5.  The first applicant, Mr Evghenii Antonov, is a Russian national who was born in 1979 and lives in Tiraspol. The second applicant, Mrs Iryna Antonova, is a Ukrainian national who was born in 1954 and lives in Tiraspol.
6.  The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicants, may be summarised as follows.
7.  The first applicant was arrested in Tiraspol in August 2009 and accused of having in his possession a hunter’s knife and a packet of marijuana. He was initially held in the pre-trial detention centre of the “MRT” Ministry of Internal Affairs (“IVS Tiraspol”), and on 30 October 2009 was moved to the Hlinaia prison in Grigoriopol.
8.  A few days after his arrest the first applicant called the second applicant and asked her to bring him food and warm clothes. He told her that he was being held in a dark, damp cell without basic hygiene.
9.  The second applicant was not allowed to see the first applicant, and the OSCE was refused access to IVS Tiraspol on 19 October 2009, where some 90 detainees, including the first applicant, were on a hunger strike to protest against ill-treatment and inhuman conditions of detention. Further complaints to the Moldovan, Russian and “MRT” authorities were unsuccessful.
10.  On 9 December 2009 the second applicant was able to see the first applicant during a court trial; she submitted that he looked tired and weak.
11.  On 9 November 2010 the Tiraspol city court found the first applicant guilty of preparing to commit theft, carrying an illegal weapon and having been in possession of a narcotic substance. At the time of the last submissions to the Court, the case was pending before the “MRT” Supreme Court.
12.  The first applicant, Mr Alexandru Băluţă, is a Moldovan national who was born in 1984 and lives in Lunga. The second applicant, Mrs Tamara Băluţă, is a Moldovan national who was born in 1954 and lives in Lunga.
13.  The first applicant was arrested in Tiraspol in December 2004 and accused of murder and arson. He was allegedly severely beaten. He was released in 2007 with an undertaking not to leave the city without permission. However, he left to work abroad and was rearrested on 13 September 2009, when he returned home.
14.  He was initially held in the pre-trial detention centre of the “MRT” Ministry of Internal Affairs (“IVS Tiraspol”), then moved to the Hlinaia prison in Grigoriopol.
15.  The first applicant has allegedly been held in inhuman conditions of detention, namely in a dark, damp cell without basic hygiene and without any facilities for a daily walk. According to the second applicant, food and other items which she attempts to send to the first applicant do not reach him (except for bread) and all her requests to see him have been refused.
16.  On 13 October 2009 the second applicant found out that many of the detainees in IVS Tiraspol were on hunger strike in protest against abuse and inhuman conditions of detention. She alleged that on 16 October 2009 a special riot police force entered the prison and beat up the prisoners.
17.  The OSCE was refused access to IVS Tiraspol on 19 October 2009. Further complaints to the Moldovan, Russian and “MRT” authorities were unsuccessful. In particular, on 27 October 2009 the second applicant complained to the Russian Embassy in Moldova, which promised to officially contact the “MRT” prosecutor’s office in connection with the case.
18.  In reply to the second applicant’s letter of 12 October 2009, asking for permission to see the first applicant, on 29 October 2009 the Prosecutor’s Office of the “MRT” replied that “under [the applicable legislation] the investigator is not under an obligation to authorise the meeting of detainees with their relatives. In your case, such meetings were refused.” No other reasons were given.
19.  On an unknown date the applicant was transferred to another prison in Grigoriopol, also under the control of the “MRT” authorities.
20.  The first applicant, Mr Oleksandr Bezrodnii, is a Ukrainian national who was born in 1986 and lives in Tiraspol. The second applicant, Mrs Liudmila Bezrodnyaya, is a Russian national who was born in 1967 and lives in Tiraspol.
21.  The first applicant is the leader of the non-governmental organisation “The World of Youth”. He was arrested in Tiraspol on 23 July 2009 and accused of stealing roses from a public park, as well as endangering the life of three “militia” officers and private security agents. He was initially held in the pre-trial detention centre of the “MRT” Ministry of Internal Affairs (“IVS Tiraspol”), then moved to the Hlinaia prison in Grigoriopol.
22.  On 29 July 2009 the second applicant was told by a lawyer appointed by the “MRT” court that the first applicant had been brought to that court for a hearing. When the second applicant saw the first applicant, he allegedly had blood on his face and some green substance on his head, which she claims masked the effects of a severe blow to his head. She also saw bruises on the first applicant’s body. The first applicant was allegedly able to tell the second applicant that he was being ill-treated with the aim of extracting self-incriminating statements from him.
23.  Also on 29 July 2009 the “Tiraspol town court” ordered the first applicant’s detention pending trial for an undetermined period of time. It reiterated the charges against the first applicant and stated that
“... the court takes into account the fact that [the first applicant] is charged with a serious offence for which the law provides a punishment of lengthy imprisonment, that he is not well viewed by society, that he is unemployed and has already been convicted of a criminal offence in the past, that he does not acknowledge his guilt, which gives the court reasons to believe that if released he may abscond or reoffend. The case-file contains sufficient evidence to support the investigator’s request.”
24.  On an unknown date in September 2009 the first applicant attended a court hearing and was able to have a brief conversation with the second applicant, in the course of which he told her that he had been ill-treated and intimidated. He described the conditions of detention in the following manner: he was held in a cell in the basement of the detention centre without any access to daylight; he was held with persons with infectious diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis; there were insufficient beds (in the form of hard platforms, without any mattresses or bed linen), forcing the detainees to take it in turns to get some sleep; he was only allowed one shower a month; the toilet was in the cell and was very rarely cleaned; the cell was damp and lacked a working ventilation system; the cell was full of parasitic insects and on the rare occasions when disinfections were carried out the detainees were present in the cell; there were almost no hygiene products; the food was inedible, full of mould and insects; and no medical assistance was given to him despite his injuries.
25.  The second applicant submitted that all the food and other items which she had attempted to send to the first applicant had been rejected by the prison administration or destroyed. On 13 October 2009 the second applicant was told by the prison staff that no food was necessary for the detainees since they were on hunger strike. She was warned that if the strike continued, riot police would be called in.
26.  On 15 October 2009 Mr V. Ursu, a member of the Consulting Committee for Prevention of Torture in Moldova, reported that on 14 October 2009 he had been informed by relatives of several persons detained in the detention centre of the “MRT” Ministry of Internal Affairs that many detainees in that centre were on hunger strike and that they were being subjected to ill-treatment.
27.  On 16 October 2009 the second applicant found out that the riot police had entered the prison. She was unable to find out what had happened to the first applicant.
28.  The applicants have submitted several press reports concerning the hunger strike at the above-mentioned detention centre and the alleged ill-treatment of detainees. They have also submitted copies of press reports by the “MRT” media, according to which on 22 October 2009 the “MRT” Minister of Justice declared that pre-trial detention centres were overcrowded.
29.  The OSCE was refused access to IVS Tiraspol on 19 October 2009. Further complaints to Moldovan, Russian and “MRT” authorities were unsuccessful. In particular, on 27 October 2009 the second applicant complained to the Russian Embassy in Moldova, which promised to officially contact the “MRT” prosecutor’s office in connection with the case. In letters to the Council of Europe and to the Centre for Human Rights the second applicant noted that she had seen the first applicant covered in blood and with bruises on his head.
30.  In a letter to the Tiraspol city court, dated 3 February 2010, the first applicant complained that he had been severely beaten by the “MRT” militia on 23 July 2009 when he had been arrested. He noted that he had numerous bruises and hematomas on his body and limbs, that he had suffered many blows to his head and that his leg was so swollen and bruised that he had been taken to a medical facility (“medical town” – лечебный городок), which should have registered the treatment administered to him.
31.  On 28 July 2010 the first applicant was found guilty by the Tiraspol city court and sentenced to 4 years’ imprisonment suspended for three years. That sentence was quashed by the “MRT” Supreme Court on 31 August 2010 and sent for re-examination by the Tiraspol city court. The case was pending before that court at the time of the last submissions made to the Court.
32.  The relevant materials have been summarised in Mozer v. the Republic of Moldova and Russia [GC] (no. 11138/10, §§ 61-77, ECHR 2016).