Background
Six applicants complained about conditions at Korydallos Prison in Greece. Their allegations included overcrowding, inadequate hygiene and facilities, restricted access to warm water, poor food, lack of fresh air, passive smoking, and—in some complaints—medical care during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Two applicants, Christos Manikas and Themelis Drakogiannakis, remained detained when they applied to the Court and complained principally of overcrowding. Two others, Mohammad Sharaf and Konstantinos Nikolaou, had been released before filing their application. The applicants’ representative did not provide requested updated information concerning Nikolaos Panagopoulos and Meta Renoz.
The Court’s Holding
The Court struck out the application as to Panagopoulos and Renoz because the absence of updated information justified concluding that they no longer wished to pursue it. It rejected Sharaf’s and Nikolaou’s Article 3 complaints for non-exhaustion: because they had been released before applying to Strasbourg, they should first have pursued a compensatory action under Article 105 of the Introductory Law to the Civil Code.
As to Manikas and Drakogiannakis, the Court found a violation of Article 3. It accepted that Korydallos Prison was persistently overcrowded during their detention, producing a manifest and non-short-lived lack of personal space. The Government had not supplied precise information about the number of detainees in their dormitories, while CPT findings and official data showed severe overcrowding. The Court awarded each applicant EUR 4,400 for non-pecuniary damage and EUR 1,000 jointly for costs and expenses.
The Court found no need to examine separately their Article 13 complaint concerning an effective remedy for poor detention conditions. It declared the remaining complaints inadmissible or found that they disclosed no appearance of a Convention violation.
Key Takeaways
- Persistent prison overcrowding and a resulting manifest lack of personal space breached Article 3 for two applicants.
- Former detainees seeking compensation for past detention conditions must use the available domestic compensatory remedy before applying to Strasbourg.
- The Court struck out claims where applicants failed to provide requested current information indicating an intention to pursue the case.
Why It Matters
The judgment applies the Court’s established Article 3 overcrowding standards to Korydallos Prison and relies on both the Government’s occupancy data and CPT findings. It underscores that authorities must be able to provide concrete evidence about cell occupancy when contesting allegations of inadequate personal space.
Procedurally, the decision distinguishes between applicants challenging ongoing detention conditions and those complaining only of completed detention: for the latter, Greece’s Article 105 civil action must ordinarily be exhausted first.