Laddy Curtis Valentine, et al., v Bryan Collier, et al.
Country: United StatesYear: 2020
Court: United States District Court, S.D. Texas, Houston Division
Citation: 455 F.Supp.3d 308 (2020)
Health Topics: Aging, Health care and health services, Infectious diseases, Prisons, Water, sanitation and hygiene
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to health, Right to life
Plaintiffs Laddy Curtis Valentine (“Valentine”) and Richard Elvin King (“King”) were inmates at Wallace Pack Unit (“Pack Unit”), a geriatric state prison run by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (“TDCJ”) in Grimes County, Texas. On March 30, 2020, plaintiffs filed a complaint, alleging that the defendants, TDCJ Executive Director Bryan Collier (“Collier”), Pack Unit …Read more
Saribekyan and Balyan v. Azerbaijan
Country: AzerbaijanYear: 2020
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: [2020] ECHR 35746/11
Health Topics: Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from discrimination, Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to bodily integrity, Right to life
The applicants, Mamikon Saribekyan and Siranush Balyan, brought an application that their son, Manvel Saribekyan, had been tortured and killed under the detention of the Azerbaijan authorities. Saribekyan, was a resident of the Tutjur village in the Gegharkunik region of Armenia near the border of Azerbaijan. On September 11th, 2010, Saribekyan lost his bearings in …Read more
British Columbia Civil Liberties Association v Canada (Attorney General)
Country: CanadaYear: 2018
Court: Supreme Court of British Columbia
Citation: 2018 BCSC 62
Health Topics: Mental health, Prisons
Human Rights: Right to bodily integrity, Right to life
The plaintiffs are two non-profit organizations, the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association and the John Howard Society of Canada. The plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of sections 31-33 and 37 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA), which authorized administrative segregation of inmates in federal prisons. Section 31 provided that the purpose of administrative segregation …Read more
Danilczuk v. Cyprus
Country: CyprusYear: 2018
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: [2018] ECHR 21318/12
Health Topics: Prisons, Water, sanitation and hygiene
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
The applicant, Mr. Robert Danilczuk, a Polish national formerly held at a Nicosia Central Prisons in Cyprus, submitted an application under the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) alleging poor detention conditions. Specifically, Danilczuk complained that in the various cell blocks in which he was placed, there was overcrowding, …Read more
X v. Germany
Country: GermanyYear: 2018
Court: The European Court of Human Rights
Citation: App. No. 54646/17
Health Topics: Prisons, Public safety
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Freedom of movement and residence
The applicant, a Russian national, arrived in Germany in 2002. In 2002 and 2011, the competent domestic authorities denied the applicant’s asylum requests. In 2012, the applicant was granted a residence permit, which was later prolonged until March 2018. In 2014, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution investigated the applicant due to …Read more
Glossip et al. v. Gross et al.
Country: United StatesYear: 2015
Court: Supreme Court
Citation: 576 U.S. __ (2015)
Health Topics: Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to life
The state of Oklahoma adopted lethal injection as its method of execution for inmates on death row. The injection consisted of a three-drug protocol of (1) sodium thiopental (a barbiturate) to induce unconsciousness, (2) a paralytic agent to inhibit all muscular-skeletal movements, and (3) potassium chloride to induce cardiac arrest. The Supreme Court had previously ruled …Read more
Wong Ho Wing v. Peru
Country: PeruYear: 2015
Court: Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Health Topics: Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person, Right to life
Wong Ho Wing, a Chinese citizen, was wanted by the judicial authorities of Hong Kong, China for smuggling, money laundering, bribery, and tax evasion. He was arrested at the Lima airport as he attempted to enter Peru from the United States. China and Peru had entered into an extradition treaty in 2001 that obligated both …Read more
Amirov v. Russia
Country: RussiaYear: 2014
Court: The European Court of Human Rights
Citation: [2014] EHCR 51857/13
Health Topics: Chronic and noncommunicable diseases, Health care and health services, Infectious diseases, Medicines, Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to bodily integrity, Right to health
Amirov is a local politician who was arrested and charged in June 2013 with attempted murder, attempting to organize a terrorist attack, and related charges. Amirov was paralyzed in 1993 and requires constant medical care. Amirov argued that he should not be detained pending trial because of his poor health, age and position in the …Read more
Blessington, et al. v. Australia
Country: AustraliaYear: 2014
Court: United Nations Human Rights Committee
Citation: Communication No. 1968/2010; CCPR/C/112/D/1968/2010
Health Topics: Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
The claimants, who were serving life imprisonment sentences, claimed that the state of Australia had violated articles 7, 10, 15 and 24 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“Covenant”), particularly the right to freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman, and/or degrading treatment. The claimants were jointly tried for the murder, abduction, and …Read more
Hall v. Florida
Country: United StatesYear: 2014
Court: Supreme Court
Citation: 572 U.S. ___ (2014); 134 S.Ct. 1986
Health Topics: Disabilities, Prisons
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
The petitioner and his accomplice kidnapped, beat, raped, and murdered a pregnant woman before driving to a convenience store, which they planned to rob. In the parking lot of the store, they killed a sheriff’s deputy who attempted to apprehend them. The petitioner received the death penalty for both murders. He argued that he could …Read more