3 of the Convention
49. The applicant complained that the conditions of his detention in Tver remand centre No. 69/1 from 24 November 2003 to 8 December 2004 had been in breach of Article 3 of the Convention. In his submissions in August 2006 he also complained that the conditions of his detention in the remand centre from October 2001 to April 2003 were in breach of Article 3 of the Convention. This provision reads as follows:
"No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."
A. Admissibility
50. The Court observes that the complaint concerning the conditions of detention from October 2001 to April 2003 was introduced by the applicant in August 2006. The Court finds, therefore, that this complaint was introduced out of time and must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 1 and 4 of the Convention.
51. As regards the complaint concerning the conditions of the applicant's detention in the remand centre from 24 November 2003 to 8 December 2004 (see paragraphs 19 - 25 above), the Court considers that it is not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 of the Convention. It further notes that it is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must therefore be declared admissible.
B. Merits
52. The Government submitted that at the time the authorities had been unable to provide four square metres of cell space per detainee in this remand facility, as required under Russian law (see also paragraph 46 above). The problem of overpopulation had been widespread at the relevant time and could not be resolved in view of the high level of crime and a lack of funding. However, the mere fact of non-compliance with the national requirements concerning cell space per detainee, in the Government's view, did not suffice to find a violation of Article 3 of the Convention. The remaining conditions of the applicant's detention (the fact that he had an individual bed and bedding, the light and temperature conditions in the cells, the presence of a toilet and table) had been acceptable.
53. The applicant maintained his initial allegations and submitted that he could not have been provided with an individual bed since the number of detainees exceeded the number of beds in the cells.
54. The Court observes that the parties' accounts differ in various respects. However, it is clear that the applicant was afforded less than two square metres of cell space, while at some times this figure went below one square metre per detainee (see paragraph 21 above). In particular, the Government made no submissions regarding the cell population between 15 November and 8 December 2004, which prompts the Court to give credence to the applicant's allegation that the cell population might have approached forty persons instead of the twelve detainees for which cells Nos. 19 and 20 were designed. Moreover, the Court cannot accept the Government's submission that the applicant was provided with an individual bed in a situation where the cells housed more than twelve detainees and had a constant number of beds (twelve).
55. The Court also notes that the applicant's grievances at the national level gave rise to an enquiry, which confirmed in substance the above findings concerning the overpopulation problem and the related insufficiency of individual beds for all detainees (see paragraph 25 above).
56. The Court reiterates that in a number of cases the lack of personal space afforded to detainees in Russian remand centres was so extreme as to justify, in itself, a finding of a violation of Article 3 of the Convention. In those cases applicants were usually afforded less than three square metres of personal space (see, for example, Lind v. Russia, No. 25664/05, § 59, 6 December 2007; Kantyrev v. Russia, No. 37213/02,
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