CCPR/C/118/D/2152/2012
commit suicide by cutting his wrists. One of his cellmates, who had previously subjected
the author to harassment, saw him, bandaged his wrist with a sheet and forbade him to seek
medical assistance. The author remained in pretrial detention until 10 September 2007. On
12 July 2007, the Syktyvkar City Court convicted the author of several offences and
sentenced him to 13 years’ imprisonment.
2.4
On an unspecified date, the author filed a civil law suit against the actions of the
employees of the pretrial detention centre, stating that they had caused him moral, physical
and psychological damage, and asked for recovery of non-pecuniary damage. On 29 May
2009, the Syktyvkar City Court decided that the author’s complaint was unfounded, since
the author had failed to prove that non-pecuniary damage had been caused by deliberate
illegal actions of employees of the pretrial detention centre. The author was not personally
present during the hearings. On 24 September 2009, the Judicial Board in Civil Matters of
the Supreme Court of the Komi Republic, rejected the cassation appeal of the author against
that decision, with the motivation that the Syktyvkar City Court, when reviewing his
complaint, had complied with the law. The author filed an application for a supervisory
review of the two decisions with the Supreme Court of the Komi Republic, but his
application was rejected on 1 March 2010, with a similar motivation to that issued in the
cassation appeal.
2.5
On an unspecified date, the author filed a request with the Prosecutor’s Office to
initiate a criminal case against the employees of the detention centre. On 25 July 2009, the
Prosecutor’s Office issued a decision refusing to initiate a criminal case. On an unspecified
date, the author filed a complaint with the Syktyvkar City Court, attempting to establish
that the decision of the Prosecutor’s Office was illegal and ill-founded. On 3 December
2009, the Prosecutor’s Office overturned its 25 July 2009 decision, with the motivation that
it was issued without proper consideration of submissions by witnesses. After additional
investigation, on 24 March 2010 and 23 November 2010 the Prosecutor’s Office again
refused to initiate a criminal case.
2.6
On 10 December 2009, the author submitted a complaint to the European Court of
Human Rights, which was rejected on the grounds that the alleged violations occurred
between 1 September 2006 and 10 September 2007, therefore more than six months prior to
the date of the complaint.
2.7
On 5 October 2010, the Federal Service for Execution of Punishment in the Komi
Republic responded to the author’s complaints from 24 August, 30 August, 2 September, 6
September and 9 September 2010. The response addressed his complaints with regard to
the repeated searches, transfer to the punishment cell, the conditions in the cell, and
detention with convicted detainees, and concluded that no violations of the law were
observed in the actions of the employees of the pretrial detention centre. A similar response,
dated 29 October 2010, from the same institution, was given to the author’s complaints
from 4 and 5 October 2010.
The complaint
3.
According to the author, during his detention at the pretrial detention centre from 1
September 2006 to 10 September 2007, numerous violations of domestic legislation
occurred. He maintained that he was illegally detained in the “rubber cell” and in the
punishment cell, and that no note regarding his detention was made in the registry; he was
not allowed to use the bathing facilities for one and a half months; he was denied everyday
walks; and he was detained with detainees with previous convictions of murder and with
mentally ill detainees, one of whom forced him to take psychotropic substances. The author
maintained that his rights under articles 7, 10 (1) and (2) and 26 of the Covenant were
violated by the State party.
3