European Court of Human Rights
26 October 2000
Facts
The applicant was detained on remand but was then released, after numerous requests, on the basis of a psychiatric report which stated that the applicant showed suicidal tendencies. The applicant was then convicted and placed in detention. He initiated many requests for release on health grounds, but all of them were rejected. His conviction and the detention order were quashed, subject to the payment of bail. His appeals against the amount, in which he invoked the risk of suicide, were unsuccessful. He was then released from prison after the bail had been lodged.
Complaint
The applicant alleged, under Article 3 of the Convention, that he had not received adequate psychiatric treatment while in prison.
Court’s ruling
The Court held that Article 3 of the Convention could not be interpreted as laying down a general obligation to release a detainee on health grounds or to place him/her in a civil hospital in order to have particular treatment. The Court held that the State must nevertheless ensure that a detainee is held in conditions compatible with his dignity and that his health and well-being are adequately secured, in particular by the provision of appropriate medical care. In the present case, the Court found that the applicant regularly sought and obtained medical attention, and nothing showed that the authorities could be held responsible for his attempted suicide. Neither was there any subsequent failure to provide psychiatric observation as regular assistance was given. Thus, while the detention may have exacerbated the applicant's feelings of distress, it had not been established that he was subjected to ill-treatment of a sufficiently severe level to come within the scope of Article 3.