FIFTH SECTIONCASE OF BONDARENKO AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE(Applications nos. 15961/23 and 6 others – see appended list)      JUDGMENT STRASBOURG12 December 2024 This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.In the case of Bondarenko 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 21 November 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 applicants were represented by Mr Sergiy Mykolayovych Rybiy, a lawyer practising in Dnipro, Ukraine.3.  The Ukrainian Government (“the Government”) were given notice of the applications.THE FACTS4.  The list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.THE LAWJOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS5.  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 CONVENTION6.  The applicants complained principally of the inadequate conditions of their detention during the periods indicated in the appended table and that they had no effective remedy in this connection. They relied on Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention.7.  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).8.  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.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. In particular, the Court observes that, in reply to a prima facie case of inadequate conditions of detention, complained of by the applicants, the Government have failed to provide any primary evidence showing cell floor plans and the actual number of inmates during the specific periods of the applicants’ detention (see Ananyev and Others, cited above, § 123, and, for example, Sparysh and Kutsmand v. Ukraine [Committee], nos. 49709/18 and 49870/18, 12 September 2024). 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.  In applications nos. 25817/23, 32960/23 and 32968/23, the applicants also raised other complaints under various Articles of the Convention.13.  The Court has examined the applications listed in the appended table 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 the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law admissible, and the remainder of applications nos. 25817/23, 32960/23 and 32968/23 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 12 December 2024, 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 birthFacilityStart and end dateDurationSq. m per inmateSpecific grievancesAmount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage per applicant(in euros)[1]   15961/2329/03/2023Dmytro Volodymyrovych BONDARENKO1982 Kryvyy Rig Detention Facility no. 320/01/2018pendingMore than 6 year(s) and8 month(s) and 21 day(s)3.7 m²overcrowding, lack of fresh air, 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 running water, lack of toiletries, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, 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, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or insufficient natural light, poor quality of potable water, no or restricted access to warm water7,500   25817/2305/06/2023Sergiy Ivanovych DERKACH1968 Kryviy Rih Detention Facility no. 319/04/2023pendingMore than 1 year(s) and5 month(s) and 21 day(s)3.3 m²overcrowding, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, lack of or poor quality of bedding and bed linen, poor quality of food, no or restricted access to shower, poor quality of potable water4,000   32387/2306/08/2023Oleksandr Volodymyrovych ZALYEVSKYY1984 Kryvyy Rih Detention Facility no. 309/11/2012pendingMore than 11 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 1 day(s)3 m²overcrowding, 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, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of or insufficient natural light, lack of or insufficient electric light, passive smoking, mouldy or dirty cell, inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, lack of privacy for toilet, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air7,500   32960/2311/08/2023Mykola Sergiyovych ANEDCHENKO1977 Kryvyy Rih Detention Facility no. 304/08/2018pendingMore than 6 year(s) and2 month(s) and6 day(s)3.9 m²overcrowding, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, inadequate temperature, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, 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, lack of or insufficient quantity 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 electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light7,500   32962/2311/08/2023Oleksandr Anatoliyovych KOZMICH1971 Kryvyi Rih Detention Facility no. 324/01/2014pendingMore than 10 year(s) and8 month(s) and 16 day(s)3.9 m²overcrowding, inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, 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 insufficient quantity of food, 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 potable water, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, passive smoking, poor quality of food7,500   32968/2310/08/2023Vyacheslav Vitaliyovych RUBALSKYY1983 Kryvyi Rih Detention Facility no. 304/10/2019pendingMore than 5 year(s) and6 day(s)3.9 m²overcrowding, inadequate temperature, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, 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 insufficient quantity of food, 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 potable water, no or restricted access to shower, no or restricted access to warm water, passive smoking, poor quality of food7,500   35613/2307/09/2023Yuriy Valeriyovych BESSONOV1987 Kryvyy Rih Detention Facility no. 304/07/2021pendingMore than 3 year(s) and3 month(s) and 6 day(s)3.8 m²overcrowding, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, inadequate temperature, mouldy or dirty cell, infestation of cell with insects/rodents, lack of or inadequate hygienic facilities, no or restricted access to warm water, lack of toiletries, lack of privacy for toilet, 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, no or restricted access to potable water, lack of or insufficient physical exercise in fresh air, lack of or insufficient electric light, lack of or insufficient natural light7,300  [1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.