The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) delivered a judgment in the case of Didyk and Others v. Ukraine, which consolidated nine applications concerning inadequate detention conditions in Ukrainian detention facilities, particularly in the Zhytomyr Detention Facility.The Court found violations of Articles 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) and 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the Convention regarding all applicants. The violations stemmed from poor detention conditions, including severe overcrowding with only 2.5-3.8 square meters per inmate, lack of privacy, poor sanitation, and insufficient access to basic facilities.The key provisions of the judgment include:
- The Court reaffirmed that serious lack of space in prison cells is a crucial factor in determining whether detention conditions are ‘degrading’ under Article 3
- The Ukrainian government failed to provide evidence showing cell floor plans and actual number of inmates during specific periods
- The Court awarded compensation ranging from 5,000 to 7,500 euros per applicant for non-pecuniary damage
- The judgment referenced previous cases (Melnik v. Ukraine and Sukachov v. Ukraine) where similar violations were found
The most significant aspects of this decision are:
- The systematic nature of poor detention conditions in Ukrainian facilities
- The Court’s emphasis on the minimum space requirement per detainee
- The lack of effective domestic remedies for complaints about detention conditions
- The establishment of specific compensation amounts for such violations
