Applicant, a Polish national suffering from chronic depression, alleged violations of Articles 3 (prohibition of torture), 5.3 (trial within a reasonable time), 6.1 (unreasonably long proceedings), and 13 (effective remedy) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The applicant was in detention for fraud charges. While in prison, he attempted suicide twice and went …Read more

The plaintiff applied to the European Court of Human Rights alleging that the conditions in the Italian prison Pianosa violated Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. The plaintiff was arrested on suspicion of involvement in a mafia-type organization, and transferred to Pianosa Prison. The …Read more

Six communications jointly alleged that the Mauritanian state committed numerous human rights violations from 1986 to 1992. Specifically, the communications alleged that the State violated articles 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, and 26 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (“the Charter”), which came into …Read more

The applicant was an inmate of Warkworth prison and a long time heroin addict. While an inmate, the applicant sought to overcome this addiction. The Correctional Service of Canada had a 2-phase program to address addiction cases.  Phase I provided regular doses of methadone “only to those entering federal prison… already enrolled in a community …Read more

R was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment by the Chief Magistrate for the offence of escaping from lawful custody contrary to s 138 of the Penal Code Cap 17. In addition the Commissioner of Prisons imposed sanctions on R for the escape under the Prisons Act Cap 86, ss 83(1)A(i) and (vi) and paras 123(3) …Read more

Trevor Bennett (“author”) at the time of submission of the communication was awaiting execution at a prison. He had been convicted of murder and sentenced to death. His appeals to the Court of Appeal and Judicial Committee of the Privy Council were dismissed. He claimed violations of articles 6, 7, 9, 10, and 14 of …Read more

C had been held on death row for 4 years and 9 months without lodging any appeals against conviction or sentence. C sought a stay of his execution order on the grounds that the delay was unreasonable and violated the constitutional prohibition on torture or inhuman degrading treatment or punishment. C argued that the holding …Read more

In 1996, Glen Fielding was sentenced to four years imprisonment. Whilst incarcerated, Fielding, a man who had sex with men, requested condoms but was refused on the basis that it was against Prison Service policy to provide condoms to a prisoner who was not HIV-positive; there was no evidence that Fielding was HIV positive. The …Read more

Rights International, a non-governmental organization based in the United States, claimed that Nigerian military soldiers arrested and tortured Mr. Charles Baridorn Wiwa at an unknown military detention camp in Gokana, Nigeria. The Complainant alleged that Mr. Wiwa’s detention lasted from January 2-9, 1996, and that during his detention, authorities horsewhipped him, subjected him to various …Read more

Victor Rosario Congo, an Ecuadorian, was placed in a detention center pending investigations into criminal charges. There were indications that he suffered from a mental disorder. In September 12, 1990, Mr. Congo was placed in an isolation cell at which time a guard assaulted him in the Rehabilitation Center, inflicting a wound to his head. …Read more