Petrov v. Republic of Moldova, No. 38066/18, ECtHR (Fifth Section), 5 March 2026

The State is under the obligation to take appropriate general measures to address the systemic problem of informal hierarchy in prisons, protecting incarcerated individuals against forced or compulsory labour.

Art. 3 ECHR
Art. 4 ECHR
Art. 14 ECHR

1. It constitutes a violation of the prohibition of torture and of the prohibition of discrimination where the State fails to comply with its positive obligations despite being aware of the existence of an informal hierarchy among prisoners and of the applicant’s position of extreme vulnerability as a member of the “pariah caste”, and omits to adopt measures capable of protecting him from physical and social segregation, humiliation, exclusion from access to essential prison services, and assignment to degrading tasks.

2. Even in the absence of direct physical violence, the prolonged exposure of a detainee to a regime of marginalisation, symbolic inferiorisation, and constant psychological subjugation exceeds the minimum level of severity required under the prohibition of torture and amounts to degrading treatment, contrary to human dignity.

3. It constitutes a violation of the prohibition of forced labour where the State fails to intervene in respect of heavy, humiliating, or unwanted work imposed on a detainee by other prisoners under the implicit threat of reprisals, where the prison authorities are aware of and tolerate such practices. Such activities do not fall within the notion of “work normally required of a detained person” where they pursue punitive or discriminatory aims and are allocated on the basis of an informal hierarchy.