ECtHR, XX v. Romania, No. 33234/12, 2018
- 2018
- Romania
Topics
Violent extremismLegal bases
European Convention on Human Rights Protocol No. 6 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms concerning the Abolition of the Death Penalty, ETS No.114Courts
European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)Laws
Right to Liberty Right to a fair trial Torture, degrading and inhuman and treatment Right to an effective remedy Right to respect for private and family life Right to lifeFacts
The case concerned the applicant’s allegations that Romania had led the United States Central Intelligence Agency transport him under the secret extraordinary rendition programme onto its territory and had allowed him to be subjected to ill-treatment and arbitrary detention in a CIA detention “black site”. He also complained that Romania had failed to carry out an effective investigation into his allegation. The applicant is facing capital charges in the US for his alleged involvement in terrorist attacks.
Legal grounds
Article 2 of the ECHR; Article 3 of the ECHR; Article 5 of the Convention of the ECHR; Article 6§1 of the ECHR; Article 8 of the ECHR; Article 13 of the ECHR; Article 1 of the Protocol No. 6 to the Convention (abolition of the death penalty).
Findings
In this case, the Court had no access to the applicant as he was still being held by the US authorities in very restrictive conditions, so it had to establish the facts from various other sources. In particular, it gained key information from a US Senate report on CIA torture which was released in December 2014. It also heard expert witness testimony. The Court held that in the applicant’s case there had been a violation of Article 3 because of the Romanian Government’s failure to effectively investigate the applicant’s allegations and because of its complicity in the CIA’s actions that had led to ill-treatment. The Court also held that there had been violations of Article 5, Article 8 and Article 13 in conjunction with Articles 3, 5 and 8. Lastly, it held that there had been violations of Article 6§1, and Articles 2 and 3 taken together with Article 1 of Protocol No. 6 because Romania had assisted in the applicant’s transfer from its territory in spite of a real risk that he could face a flagrant denial of justice and death penalty. The Court noted in particular that Romania had hosted a secret CIA prison, which had the code name “Detention Site Black” between September 2003 and November 2005, that the applicant had been detained there for about 18 months, and that the domestic authorities had known the CIA would subject him to treatment contrary to Article 3. Romania had also permitted him to be moved to another CIA detention site located either in Afghanistan or in Lithuania, thus exposing him to further ill-treatment. The Court therefore found that the applicant had been within Romania’s jurisdiction and that the country had been responsible for the violation of his rights under the Convention. It further recommended that Romania conclude a full investigation into the applicant’s case as quickly as possible and, if necessary, punish any officials responsible. The Court lastly held that the country should also seek assurances from the US that the applicant would not suffer the death penalty.