MOSCOW, November 15 (RAPSI) – A European court on Thursday ordered Russia to pay $12,000 to a young man who was detained for 30 days when he was 12 years old and suffering from psychological problems, including incontinence.
The European Court of Human Rights found that the boy’s placement in a juvenile detention center for allegedly extorting money from a 9-year-old neighbor violated his rights to security, liberty and a fair trial.
Ivan Blokhin (b. 1992), who suffered from enuresis and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, was pressured into signing a confession without the presence of his legal guardian, the court said in a statement.
Blokhin filed an application with the European court in November 2006 claiming that the juvenile detention center had inhumane and medically inadequate conditions.
He also claimed that the fact that he was questioned by police without his guardian and that his legal counsel was not afforded the opportunity to cross-examine his two witnesses evidenced a lack of fairness in the proceedings against him.
The court ordered the Russian government to pay Blokhin 7,500 euros ($10,000) for non-pecuniary damages and 1,493 ($2,000) for legal and other costs.
