ECHR: Romania To Pay Over EUR18,000 Damages For Harsh Prison Conditions

Ciupercescu, 39, said in the notification sent to the Court that the state breached article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights, arguing he was subject to harsh treatment, after having been included in the category of dangerous convicts, and also faced inhumane prison conditions in the Jilava Penitentiary.

The Romanian state must pay Ciupercescu over EUR18,000 in moral and material damages, as well as all trial costs. The ruling is final on the basis of article 44, section 2, of the Convention.

Ciupercescu said in his notification that in November 2003, he was transferred to the unit of dangerous convicts within the Jilava Penitentiary, where he shared a nine-bed cell with another 19 inmates. He also complained that he was subject to complete body searches once a week and partial body searches every time he would enter or exit the cell.

In February 2007, the Supreme Court sentenced Ciupercescu to 18 years in prison, on charges of terrorism. On November 6, 2002, Ciupercescu detonated a grenade in front of the „Jean Monnet” high school in Bucharest, injuring five students and damaging property. On March 14, 2003, Ciupercescu placed another grenade on an alley in Cismigiu park, in capital Bucharest. Prosecutors said at the time that, in both cases, Ciupercescu used the grenades with intent to kill.