Banning relatives to visit a prisoner violates his right to family life.
JUDGMENT
Pakhtusov v. Russia 16-5-2017 (no. 11800/10)
SUMMARY
Family life. Detainee. Relatives’ visits. Prohibition to relatives to visit a prisoner held in administrative detention for use of an expired driving license, as the visits were not foreseen by the legislation. The Court has condemned Russia for violating the applicant’s family life.
PROVISION
Article 8
PRINCIPAL FACTS
The case concerned the ban on administrative detainees having family visits.
The applicant, Andrey Pakhtusov, is a Russian national who was born in 1984 and lives in Syktyvkar (Russia). He is a taxi driver and in July 2009 was found guilty of driving a vehicle after his licence had been withdrawn. Sentenced to 15 days’ administrative detention, he submitted a request to have a family visit. The head of the detention unit turned the request down, stating that family visits were not provided for by law. His complaint before the domestic courts, lodged after his release, was dismissed on similar grounds. Ultimately, in October 2009 the Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision, finding that Mr Pakhtusov had been denied a family visit because he had failed to provide any details about the relatives wishing to visit him.
Relying on Article 8 (right to private and family life), Mr Pakhtusov disputed the Supreme Court’s finding, alleging that the relevant domestic law had been interpreted as imposing a total ban on family visits for administrative detainees.
THE DECISION OF THE COURT
Violation of Article 8 – concerning the denial of a family visit during Mr Pakhtusov’s administrative detention
Just satisfaction: EUR 1,000 (non-pecuniary damage) and EUR 3 (costs and expenses)
