ZOURNATZIDIS AND OTHERS v. GREECE - 23261/13 (Judgment : Violation of Article 3 - Prohibition of torture (Article 3 - Degrading treatment) (Substantive aspect))

The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:

��������� Ledi Bianku, President, ��������� Ale� Pejchal, ��������� Jovan Ilievski, judges, and Renata Degener, Deputy Section Registrar,

The case originated in an application (no. 23261/13 ) against the Hellenic Republic lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (�the Convention�) by fifty-seven applicants of various nationalities whose names appear in the annexed list. They were represented by Mr K. Tsitselikis and Mr A. Spathis, lawyers practising in Thessaloniki.

The Greek Government (�the Government�) were represented by their Agent�s delegates, Ms K. Paraskevopoulou and Mr. I. Bakopoulos, Legal Counsellor and Legal Assistant respectively to the State Legal Council. The Albanian and Italian Governments did not make use of their right to intervene (Article 36 � 1 of the Convention).

Of the applicants, the fourth was released on 11 March 2013 and the eighth was transferred to Alikarnassos Prison on 6 December 2012. The fifteenth applicant was released on 1 March 2013 and the twenty-first on 14 March 2013. The twenty-ninth, forty-ninth, fifty-fourth and fifty-seventh applicants were released on 28 February 2013, the forty-third on 11 March 2013, and the fiftieth on 7 March 2013, while the fifty-sixth was transferred to Amfissa Prison on 14 December 2012.