CENBAUER v. CROATIA JUDGMENT
3
for very long periods of time. In order to urinate at night and at other times
when he was confined to his cell, the applicant had to use a four-litre plastic
container in the shape of a bottle, because the guards refused to unlock his
cell and let him use the toilet. Toiletries and other personal hygiene products
were provided only every four to five months. The food served to the
inmates was of insufficient quantity and poor quality; the inmates were
served only carbohydrates, without any vegetables and hardly any meat. In
general, the prison was overcrowded. The prison buildings, built about two
hundred years ago, were in a very poor state of repair. As the prison guards
did not wear badges with their number or name, the inmates did not know
their identities. The prisoners were made to line up as many as ten times a
day, even when it rained. They also had to take outdoor exercise daily in
slippers, even when it rained or snowed.
18. The Government provided the following account of the applicant's
detention conditions at LSP.
19. The applicant's cell was a double-occupancy cell. Most of the time
the applicant shared it with another inmate and only for a period of about
two months was he alone in the cell. The cell was 3.5 m long, 1.6 m wide
(5.6 m2) and 3.05 m high. It had a 0.8 x 0.8 m (0.64 m2) window and one
artificial light. There was no toilet in the cell although the applicant had
permanent access to communal sanitary facilities and could use a shower.
Inmates were provided with toothpaste, soap, shaving cream, disposable
razors, shampoo and toilet paper on a monthly basis. The food served to the
inmates was of the prescribed calorific value and in general the inmates had
no complaints in that respect. The inmates were lined up several times a day
before meals. The inmates who worked were also lined up when going to
and coming from work and before and after their break. Inmates were lined
up outdoors when the weather permitted and they were dressed
appropriately. In bad weather inmates were lined up inside the prison
building. The inmates were afforded a large outdoor exercise area and were
able to attend film shows on Sundays.
20. The Government submitted that the renovation of B wing had been
completed on 5 December 2003. It had been freshly painted and every cell
had been provided with a toilet and washbasin. The cells now have parquet
flooring, new furniture and radiators, new electric sockets and new ceiling
lights. There are now four showers used by 35 to 40 inmates.
C. The findings of the European Committee for the Prevention of
Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)
21. The CPT visited Croatia between 20 and 30 September 1998. Its
findings with regard to LSP were as follows (extract from the report to the
Croatian government on the visit to Croatia carried out by the CPT from
20 to 30 September 1998, CPT/Inf. (2001) 4):