The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR ) ruled in the Case of Radulescu v. Romania (32800/012) on the 1st of April 2014. It condemned the Romanian state for violating the right to be free from degrading treatment of one of its citizens, Aurel Radulescu. The applicant was provided support in his endeavours by the Association for the Defence of Human Rights in Romania- the Helsinki Committee (APADOR-CH).

Radulescu complained to the European Court of Human Rights about detention conditions in the Jilava and Rahova prisons (Bucharest) and in the Police Station no. 15 in Bucharest. The Court found that the applicant's complaints - concerning prison overcrowding and lack of hygiene - are confirmed by the reports of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), and also by APADOR –CH’s monitoring reports following visits in prisons and police detention facilities.

The European Court found that the applicant had been subjected to degrading treatment due to awful detention conditions. It therefore admitted that there has been a violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and condemned the Romanian state to pay a compensation of 6,000 euros.

This is already the second time, in 2014 alone, when Romania is being condemned by the European Court because of its prison conditions, which are violating human rights. In the last decade, the damages paid by Romania for the mistreatment of detainees exceeded 600,000 euros. Romania ratified the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UN CAT) in 1990. In 2009 it ratified the Optional Protocol to UN CAT, committing to establishing a National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture (NPM), which should monitor detention conditions.

The national NPM is yet to be established. The latest ultimatum Romania received for doing so was in Geneva, on the 13th of May 2013, at the special meeting of the UN Committee Against Torture (CAT). We are already in the second term awarded by CAT for the establishment of the National Prevention Mechanism (NPM). While back in 2009 we obtained a three-year prolongation, last year, when the first term expired, we requested and received another two-year extension. The NPM should be up and running by November 2014. Therefore, CAT representatives were concerned by the lack of action because the Government is already in its second term and it should have presented by now a plan of action for achieving this objective in time.

In the absence of a national mechanism , one of the few independent organizations that monitors prison conditions and looks into human rights issue is APADOR-CH. The monitoring reports made public after each of APADOR-CH’s visits show that prison conditions in Romania remain deplorable and there are human rights violations. This is why Romania can expect further condemnations from the ECHR.

The main issues considered, for now, by the European Court, have been related to overcrowding, scarcity of hygiene and lack of adequate medical care. The European Court is currently examining the systemic nature of the problems with prison conditions, considering the possibility to initiate a pilot procedure against Romania. APADOR -CH has acted as a third party intervener within the initiation of this pilot procedure in the cases of Sasu v. Romania and Stanciu v. Romania. It stood in favour of starting this pilot procedure, arguing that there are systemic and structural problems with prison conditions and that, having to leave in those conditions, detainees are victims of ill treatment. Romania currently faces a crisis in prison overcrowding, given that the number of detainees arrived from 27,000 in recent years to more than 33,000 today.