FIFTH SECTIONCASE OF POLITUN AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE(Applications nos. 7037/23 and 13 others –see appended list)      JUDGMENT STRASBOURG23 January 2025  This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Politun and Others v. Ukraine,The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of: Diana Sârcu, President, Kateřina Šimáčková, Mykola Gnatovskyy, judges,and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,Having deliberated in private on 19 December 2024,Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:PROCEDURE1.  The case originated in applications against Ukraine 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 Ukrainian Government (“the Government”) were given notice of the applications.THE FACTS3.  The list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.THE LAWJOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS4.  Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLES 3 AND 13 OF THE CONVENTION5.  The applicants complained principally of the inadequate conditions of their detention during the periods indicated in the appended table and about the lack of an effective remedy in this connection. They relied on Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention.6.  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 case‑law regarding inadequate conditions of detention (see, for instance, Muršić v. Croatia [GC], no. 7334/13, §§ 96‑101, 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, §§ 122‑41, and Ananyev and Others v. Russia, nos. 42525/07 and 60800/08, §§ 149‑59, 10 January 2012).7.  In the leading cases of Melnik v. Ukraine (no. 72286/01, 28 March 2006) and Sukachov v. Ukraine (no. 14057/17, 30 January 2020), the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.8.  The Court observes in the present case that, even deducting the in-cell sanitary facility from the overall surface area of the cell, the applicants disposed of more than 4 sq. m of personal space, including the space occupied by furniture (see the calculation methodology in Muršić, cited above, §114). However, other aspects of physical conditions of detention remain relevant for the Court’s assessment of the adequacy of an applicant’s conditions of detention under Article 3 of the Convention (see Muršić, cited above, § 140, Canali v. France, no. 40119/09, § 51-53, 25 April 2013, Necula v. Romania, no. 33003/11, §§ 55-60, 18 February 2014, and, for example, Bușcu v. Romania [Committee], no. 73352/14, § 39, 20 April 2021). In this regard, the Court notes that the majority of the applicants’ grievances have not been adequately addressed by the Government. Primary evidence (including, where appropriate, photographs) related to the material conditions of detention complained of by the applicants, such as air quality, food and water quality, pest control, temperature and luminosity measurements, bathing facilities, privacy of toilet, laundry services, etc., have either not been provided or pertain to other cells or periods well before or after the applicants’ detention. Therefore, even if no issue arises with regard to the personal living space, the length of the applicants’ detention and the combined effect of the conditions they faced while being locked in their cells for up to twenty-three hours per day trigger the application of Article 3 of the Convention.9.  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, the Court considers that in the instant case the applicants’ conditions of detention during the periods indicated in the appended table were inadequate.10.  The Court further notes that the applicants did not have at their disposal an effective remedy in respect of these complaints.11.  These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention.REMAINING COMPLAINTS12.  Some applicants also raised other complaints under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention.13.  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 applications must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention.APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION14.  Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Sukachov, cited above, §§ 165 and 167), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY, Decides to join the applications;Declares the complaints concerning the inadequate conditions of detention, during the periods indicated in the appended table, and about the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law admissible, and the remainder of the applications inadmissible;Holds that these complaints disclose a breach of Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention concerning the inadequate conditions of detention during the periods indicated in the appended table and the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law;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 23 January 2025, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.  Viktoriya Maradudina Diana Sârcu Acting Deputy Registrar President   APPENDIXList of applications raising complaints under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention(inadequate conditions of detention and lack of any effective remedy in domestic law)No.Application no.Date of introductionApplicant’s nameYear of birthRepresentative’s name and locationFacilityStart and end dateDurationSq. m per inmateSpecific grievancesAmount awarded for pecuniary and non‑pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant(in euros)[1]   7037/2314/01/2023Ruslan Volodymyrovych POLITUN1976 Rybiy Sergiy MykolayovychDniproVinnytsya Detention Facility06/07/2022pendingMore than 2 years and 4 months and 28 days4 – 6.7 m²Inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of toiletries, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, passive smoking, poor quality of food.5,600   9995/2308/02/2023Oleksandr Petrovych PANASYUK1968 Rybiy Sergiy MykolayovychDniproVinnytsya Detention Facility23/11/2022pendingMore than 2 years and 11 days4 m²Lack of fresh air, passive smoking, inadequate temperature, bunk beds, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, poor quality of potable water, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air.5,000   10254/2307/02/2022Mykola Mykolayovych SOLTUS1974 Rybiy Sergiy MykolayovychDniproLadyzhyn Detention Facility no. 3928/10/2022pendingMore than 2 years and 1 months and 6 days4.1 m²Lack of fresh air, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, poor quality of potable water, passive smoking, inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of requisite medical assistance, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to warm water, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air.5,200   10378/2307/02/2023Dmytro Sergiyovych SAFONOV1995 RybiySergiy MykolayovychDniproLadyzhyn Detention Facility no. 3928/10/2022 to08/02/20233 months and 12 days  Ladyzhyn Detention Facility no. 3921/02/2023pendingMore than 1 year and 9 months and 13 days4.34 m²       4.34 m²Lack of fresh air, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, no or restricted access to warm water, poor quality of potable water, inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of requisite medical assistance, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air. Lack of fresh air, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, no or restricted access to warm water, poor quality of potable water, inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of requisite medical assistance, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air.5,000   11109/2313/02/2023Andriy Volodymyrovych POPOV1981 RybiySergiy MykolayovychDniproZamkova Detention Facility no. 5825/11/2020pendingMore than 4 years and 9 days4.2 m²Inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of toiletries, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, passive smoking, poor quality of food.7,500   11113/2313/02/2023Oleksandr Valeriyovych SLESAREV1980 RybiySergiy MykolayovychDniproZamkova Detention Facility no. 5812/04/2022pendingMore than 2 years and 7 months and 22 days4.2 m²Inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of toiletries, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, passive smoking, poor quality of food.6,100   15957/2329/03/2023Viktor Oleksandrovych SOLOMKA1985 Rybiy Sergiy MykolayovychDniproKryvyy Rig Detention Facility no. 316/02/2022pendingMore than 2 years and 9 months and 18 days4.4 m²Lack of fresh air, passive smoking, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, inadequate temperature, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, lack of requisite medical assistance, no or restricted access to running water, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities.6,400   18431/2318/04/2023IvanIvanovych MALANCHUK 1980 Rybiy Sergiy MykolayovychDniproHorodyshche Detention Facility28/12/2006pendingMore than17 years and 11 months and 6 days4.3 m²Lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, no or restricted access to warm water.7,500   22906/2316/05/2023Oleksandr Sergiyovych TARASOV1986Pustyntsev Andriy VitaliyovychDniproZhytomyr Detention Facility no. 817/02/2022pendingMore than 2 years and 9 months and 18 days4.19 m²Lack of fresh air, passive smoking, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, no or restricted access to shower, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or insufficient natural light, inadequate temperature.6,400 22952/2316/05/2023Yevgen Viktorovych BILYTSKYY1987Pustyntsev Andriy VitaliyovychDniproZhytomyr Detention Facility no. 821/04/2022pendingMore than 2 years and 7 months and 14 days4.19 m²Lack of fresh air, passive smoking, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of toiletries, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, no or restricted access to shower, lack of or insufficient natural light, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to warm water.6,100 25847/2302/06/2023Oleksandr Vyacheslavovych ALEKSYEYENKO1987 Rybiy Sergiy MykolayovychDniproZamkova Detention Facility no. 5809/12/2022pendingMore than 1 year and 11 months and 25 days4.25 m²Inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of requisite medical assistance, lack of toiletries, mouldy or dirty cell, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, passive smoking.4,900 31850/2304/08/2023MykolaPavlovych SERVETNYK1967 Voronyuk Kateryna YuriyivnaRivneVinnytsya Detention Facility no. 114/12/2020pendingMore than 3 years and 11 months and 20 days4 m²Inadequate temperature, lack of fresh air, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of toiletries, no or restricted access to warm water, mouldy or dirty cell, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light, passive smoking.7,500 36173/2319/09/2023Volodymyr Ivanovych PANASENKO1959 Panasenko Tatyana VladimirovnaLvivVinnytsya Detention Facility no. 119/11/2021 to24/05/20231 year and6 months and6 days5.2 m²Mouldy or dirty cell, lack of fresh air, inadequate temperature, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient electric light, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack or inadequate furniture, lack of requisite medical assistance, passive smoking, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of toiletries, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, poor quality of food, absence of sanitary protection measures during COVID-19 pandemic, sharing cells with inmates infected with contagious disease.4,100 13182/2423/04/2024IgorMykolayovych TYVONCHUK1971 Rybiy Sergiy MykolayovychDniproMena Detention Facility no. 9120/11/2023 to28/12/20231 month and 9 days   Mena Detention Facility no. 9119/03/2024 to23/04/20241 month and 5 days< 4 m²       < 4 m²Overcrowding, lack of fresh air, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of toiletries, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, poor quality of food, poor quality of potable water, inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell. Overcrowding, lack of fresh air, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, lack of or insufficient quantity of food, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of toiletries, no or restricted access to potable water, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, poor quality of food, poor quality of potable water, inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, mouldy or dirty cell.1,100  [1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.