European Court of Human Rights
14 June 2022
Facts
The applicant was a convicted person who had been in detention for more than eleven years and was serving his sentence in a high-security prison. The prison administration refused his request to allocate a room in the prison so he could offer congregational Friday prayers.
Complaint
The applicant complained that his right to freedom of religion had been breached due to the authorities’ refusal to make the necessary arrangements in the prison in order to enable him to offer the congregational Friday prayers which were prescribed by Islam. He relied on Article 9 of the Convention.
Court’s ruling
The Court found that the State had not respected its positive obligations under Article 9 of the Convention. Indeed, the domestic authorities did not strike a fair balance between the competing rights and interests at stake, that is the applicant’s freedom of collective worship and the public order interests (security and order in prison). The Court noted that the fact that the applicant was held in a high-security prison could not in itself justify the restriction, and the domestic authorities failed to carry out an individual risk assessment regarding the applicant’s dangerousness before reaching its decision. Also, the authorities did not sufficiently assess whether the gathering of a certain number of inmates for Friday prayers might in the individual circumstances of the case generate a security risk. Finally, the Court rejected the State’s argument related to the absence of appropriate premises for Friday prayers in the prison. The Court noted that the authorities had not explored any other modalities including those which were less restrictive of the applicant’s rights. The Court concluded that there had been a violation of Article 9 of the Convention.