Case of D v. Latvia (Application no. 76680/17)

A selection of key paragraphs can be found below the judgment.

53. The Court established above that the applicant did not experience any ill-treatment from prison staff. Nevertheless, the absence of any direct State involvement in acts of ill-treatment that meet the condition of severity such as to engage Article 3 of the Convention does not absolve the State from its obligations under this provision (see Gjini v. Serbia, no. 1128/16, § 77, 15 January 2019). In this connection, the Court refers to the relevant principles concerning State responsibility, supervision and control in relation to detention, as well as the obligation to protect an individual from inter‑prisoner violence, which are set out in the case of Premininy (cited above, §§ 82-88). In particular, the national authorities have an obligation to take measures to ensure that individuals within their jurisdiction are not subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including such ill-treatment administered by private individuals (ibid., § 84, and D.F. v. Latvia, cited above, §§ 83-84). The extent of this obligation of protection depends on the particular circumstances of each case (see Stasi, cited above, § 79).

58. There has accordingly been a violation of Article 3 of the Convention on account of the State authorities’ failure to protect the applicant from the treatment prohibited under that provision. Having reached this finding, the Court deems it unnecessary to examine the same set of facts from the perspective of Article 14 of the Convention.