30
L.M. AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA JUDGMENT
127. In so far as the applicants claimed a breach of Article 13, the Court
notes that it has already examined that allegation in the context of Articles 2
and 3 of the Convention. Having regard to these findings, it considers that it
is not necessary to examine this complaint separately on the merits (see,
among other authorities, Gaforov v. Russia, no. 25404/09, § 144,
21 October 2010; Khaydarov v. Russia, no. 21055/09, § 156, 20 May 2010;
and Khodzhayev v. Russia, no. 52466/08, § 151, 12 May 2010).
III. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 3 OF THE CONVENTION
BY THE CONDITIONS OF DETENTION
128. The applicants complained that the conditions of their detention in
the detention centre for foreign nationals had been incompatible with
Article 3 of the Convention, which reads as follows:
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.”
A. The parties’ submissions
129. The applicants listed the following elements as the basis for their
complaint under this head: verbal abuse and physical violence by the
detention centre staff, limited privacy, limited access to an interpreter and
legal aid, lack of opportunity to take walks and have outdoor exercise, and a
lack of medical treatment. They referred to their complaints and the
affidavits made by themselves and to their representatives. They believed
that the cumulative effect of these factors amounted to inhuman and
degrading treatment. They also referred to the Courts’ previous findings of a
violation of Article 3 on account of the conditions of confinement in
detention centres for foreign nationals pending expulsion and argued that
conditions there, as a rule, were substandard to the requirements of the
Convention.
130. The Government were of the opinion that the conditions of the
applicants’ detention at the centre had not disclosed a violation of Article 3.
They referred to the minimum standards established by the relevant
legislation (see paragraphs 74 and 75 above) and stressed that these
requirements had been complied with at the detention centre in the Kaluga
Region. As to the material conditions of the applicants’ detention, the
Government pointed out that M.A. and L.M. had been detained in a room
measuring 47 square metres and designed to hold six detainees; each having
a personal space of almost eight square metres, an individual bed and
bedding. The room had large windows with unrestricted access to light and
ventilation and artificial light in the evenings, inmates had access to a
partitioned toilet, and a shared bathroom was accessible on request (see
paragraph 60 above). Exercise could be taken daily (see paragraph 58
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