Laniauskas v. Lithuania, No. 48309/19, ECtHR (Second Section), 29 March 2022

Imprisonment of a person suffering from serious visual impairment. No violation of the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment.

Art. 3 ECHR

1. In order to determine whether the detention of a person who is ill complies with Article 3 of the Convention, the Court must consider three different factors: (a) the applicant’s state of health and the effect on the latter of the manner of his or her imprisonment; (b) the adequacy or inadequacy of the medical care and treatment provided in detention; and (c) whether or not the person should continue to be detained in view of his or her state of health.

2. Article 3 of the Convention cannot be construed as laying down a general obligation to release detainees on health grounds.
(The applicant was a convicted prisoner who complained that his detention was incompatible with Article 3 ECHR in view of his blindness. The Court found that there had been no violation of the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment, arguing that the applicant’s visual impairment was not such as to make his continued detention incompatible with Article 3).