rt found a violation of Article 3 on account of the detention conditions, and, in particular, overcrowding (see Mayzit v. Russia, No. 63378/00, §§ 34 - 43, 20 January 2005.). Overcrowding in remand prison IZ-39/1 was also at the heart of another, more recent case - Skorobogatykh v. Russia (No. 4871/03, §§ 8 and 9, 22 December 2009, not yet final). Mr Skorobogatykh was detained in that prison from March to December 1998; Mr Mayzit was detained there from July 2000 to July 2001; the applicant was detained in that prison from October 1999 to September 2000. The findings of fact in Mayzit and Skorobogatykh are not decisive for establishing the facts in the present case. However, they are suggestive and the Court will take them into account.
25. The Court reiterates in this connection that Convention proceedings do not in all cases lend themselves to a rigorous application of the principle affirmanti incumbit probatio (he who alleges something must prove that allegation), as in certain instances, such as those arising from the present application, the respondent Government alone have access to information capable of corroborating or refuting allegations. A failure on a Government's part to submit such information without a satisfactory explanation may give rise to the drawing of inferences as to the well-foundedness of the applicant's allegations (see Ahmet {Ozkan} and Others v. Turkey, No. 21689/93, § 426, 6 April 2004).
26. The Government, on their side, claimed that there was no data available on the number of inmates detained together with the applicant. They informed the Court that the relevant records had been destroyed. The Court finds it extraordinary, however, that the authorities kept information about the exact temperature and amount of light in the cells (see paragraph 13 above for their account of the sanitary and hygiene conditions) while such basic information as the number of inmates had not been kept. Furthermore, even if the Court assumes that the relevant official documents have indeed been destroyed, as the Government suggested, it does not relieve the Government of their procedural obligation to rebut the applicant's allegations of overcrowding.
27. Having regard to the principle cited above, together with the fact that the Government did not submit any convincing relevant information, the Court will examine the issue concerning the number of inmates in remand prison No. IZ-39/1 on the basis of the applicant's submissions.
(b) The Court's analysis of facts
28. The Court has frequently found a violation of Article 3 of the Convention on account of a lack of personal space afforded to detainees (see Khudoyorov v. Russia, No. 6847/02, §§ 104 et seq., ECHR 2005-X (extracts); Labzov v. Russia, No. 62208/00, §§ 44 et seq., 16 June 2005; Novoselov v. Russia, No. 66460/01, §§ 41 et seq., 2 June 2005; Mayzit v. Russia, No. 63378/00, §§ 39 et seq., 20 January 2005; Kalashnikov v. Russia, No. 47095/99, §§ 97 et seq., ECHR 2002-VI; and Peers v. Greece, No. 28524/95, §§ 69 et seq., ECHR 2001-III). More specifically, the Court reiterates that it recently found a violation of Article 3 on account of a criminal defendant's nine months' detention in overcrowded conditions in the same detention facility (see Mayzit, cited above, §§ 34 - 43). In Mayzit, where there had been less than two square metres of space per inmate, the Court concluded that the cells had been overcrowded, "something which in itself raises an issue under Article 3 of the Convention." In the present case, the applicant had even less personal space (less than one square metre) and was detained for a longer period of time (eleven months).
29. Irrespective of the reasons for the overcrowding, the Court reiterates that it is incumbent on the respondent Government to organise its penitentiary system in such a way as to ensure respect for the dignity of detainees, regardl
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