Sarban v Republic of Moldova: violations of the applicant's rights to liberty and security
/Facts
Mr. Sarban was detained in the remand centre of the Centre for Fighting Economic Crime and Corruption (CFECC) between 12th November 2004 and 19th January 2005 for alleged abuse of power in relation to a purchase of 40 ambulances by the Chişinău Mayoralty. A CFECC officer later stated that the case against the applicant had been fabricated for political reasons. Mr. Sarban made numerous appeals for release based on his bad state of health, his irreproachable conduct during the investigation and the unlikelihood of his leaving the country. They were all refused by the courts.
Photo by Marco Chilese on Unsplash
The applicant suffered from medical conditions and complained about the lack of medical personnel and assistance during his detention and at the detainee hospital where he was taken after fainting in a court hearing. He also complained that during the court hearings he would always be handcuffed and placed in a metal cage.
The judgment of the European Court of Human Rights
Article 3 – prohibition of degrading treatment
The Court held, unanimously, that the failure to provide basic medical assistance to Mr. Sarban when he clearly needed and had requested it, as well as the refusal to allow independent specialised medical assistance, together with other forms of humiliation, such as being held in a cage during the hearings or measuring his blood pressure through the bars of the cage in front of the public, amounted to degrading treatment within the meaning of Article 3.
Article 5 – right to liberty and security
The Court found that the habeas corpus requests made by Mr. Sarban were urgent as they had been based on important facts such as his poor health. The fact that this issue was not given sufficient consideration, as well as the considerable delay in examining the request, meant that the issue had not been addressed in good time by the Moldovan authorities. The Court held that there had been a violation of the right to liberty (Article 5).
Implementation
At the latest meeting of the Committee of Ministers in June 2020 the submissions from the government and an NGO – Legal Resources Centre from Moldova (LRCM) - were considered. The Committee agreed with LRCM’s claim that there is a continuing problem of inadequate reasoning in judicial decisions to submit people to detention. The Committee strongly urged the authorities to intensify their efforts to ensure that domestic prosecutorial and judicial practice is brought into line with Convention requirements. The Republic of Moldova has until 2021, when the examination of the Sarban case will be resumed.
Useful links:
The Committee of Ministers meeting in June 2020