The ECHR awarded 2 thousand euros in compensation to a resident of Yekaterinburg for disclosing his HIV status during the trial

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ordered Russia to pay 2,850 euros in compensation for moral damage to a resident of Yekaterinburg, whose HIV status was disclosed by the prosecutor during the trial, reports the Memorial human rights center.

The applicant was detained in 2005 on suspicion of murder. According to him, the police demanded a confession from the man, threatening him with murder and torture. The applicant confessed to the crimes charged against him and was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment.

After his arrest, the man was diagnosed with HIV. During the trial, the victim, with the permission of the prosecutor, gained access to the case materials and learned about the positive HIV status of the accused. The victim told the complainant's relative about this as an argument that the accused was a bad person. In addition, the victim informed his neighbors about the applicant’s illness.

A resident of Yekaterinburg tried to appeal the actions of the prosecutor and the victim, but the prosecutor’s office did not initiate a criminal case, and the court refused to consider the man’s complaint against the actions of the department.

The Strasbourg court ruled that information about the applicant's HIV status had nothing to do with the crime under investigation, and this information could not be added to the criminal case file without the permission of the accused. In addition, this information could not be disclosed to other people. The ECHR ruled that Russia violated Article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which guarantees the right to private life.

In addition, in 2005-2007, the man was in pre-trial detention center No. 66/1 in Yekaterinburg. During this time he changed several cameras. The applicant claimed that the cells were overcrowded - there were up to 28 people for 6-16 sleeping places. In addition, the temperature in the cells reached 2 degrees Celsius. There were no windows or equipped toilets in the places where the arrested were staying. According to him, during his arrest, on instructions from the administration, other prisoners beat him so that he would confess to the murder.

The ECtHR also found that Russia violated Article 13 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which guarantees an effective remedy before a public authority. During the consideration of this complaint, Russia recognized the conditions of the applicant's detention as inadequate and agreed to pay him 9,500 euros in compensation.