5.  The applicant was born in 1975 and lives in Chişinău. 6.  In 2001 the Comrat Prosecutor’s Office initiated a criminal investigation against the applicant on charges of murder and an arrest warrant was issued by the Comrat District Court. Since the applicant had left the country, an international search order was issued. 7.  On 21 January 2011, upon his return to Moldova, the applicant was arrested and placed in detention. On 4 February 2011, when the applicant was about to be transferred from Comrat to Chisinau, he cut open his abdomen as a sign of protest. He was taken to a hospital where his wound was taken care of. The applicant lodged a habeas corpus request, however it was rejected on the ground, inter alia, that he had been in hiding for more than ten years and that, consequently, he could abscond again. Later the detention warrant was renewed several times on similar grounds and the applicant’s appeals were rejected. The last judgment in the proceedings complained of by the applicant is dated 18 October 2011 and was issued by the Comrat Court of Appeal. 8.  During all this time the applicant was detained in Prison no. 13 in Chisinau (between 4 March and 17 April 2011 and between 9 October 2012 and 12 June 2013) and in Prison no. 5 in Cahul (between 18 April 2011 and 8 October 2012). The applicant gave a detailed description of the conditions of detention in Prison no. 13 where, according to him, the cells were overcrowded and dirty. Each inmate only had between 1.5 and 3 square metres of available space in the cells in which the applicant was detained. The toilets were separated from the rest of the cells by a wall which was not very high and were located at a distance of some 1.5 metres from the table where the inmates served their meals. There was no ventilation system and the air was impregnated with a sewage smell and with cigarette smoke; there was no sufficient natural light because the windows were very small; the daily walks lasted for only one hour and the food served was of a very bad quality. The applicant submitted that according to information available on the web page of the Ministry of Justice, each inmate was allocated only 10 Moldovan Lei per day, i.e. the equivalent of 0.8 Euros (EUR) at the time. Moreover, the applicant alleged that after his arrest, he needed urgent medical care for the wound on his abdomen and for an ear infection and that no medical care was provided for him for one month. He provided medical documents to support his claims concerning his health problems. The Government provided documents according to which the applicant was seen by doctors and medication was prescribed for him. 9.  In so far as Prison no. 5 is concerned, the applicant submitted that he was detained in two cells in which each inmate had between 2.4 and 3 square metres. The Government contested that information and presented a document according to which in the applicant’s cells each inmate had between 4.4 and 6.6 square metres. 10.  The applicant was released from detention on 12 June 2013. The Court was not informed about subsequent developments in the criminal proceedings against the applicant. 11.  The relevant parts of the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment compiled following his visit to Moldova from 4 to 11 July 2008 (The United Nations Human Rights Council, document A/HRC/10/44/Add.3, 12 February 2009) read:
“B. Conditions in places of detention
Institutions under the Ministry of Justice 30. Undoubtedly, progress has been achieved in improving conditions of detention. However, some of the institutions visited by the Special Rapporteur were heavily overcrowded. The authorities themselves pointed out that Institution No. 13 in Chişinău was severely overcrowded - on the day of the visit it held 931 persons with the official capacity being 600 (see also appendix). The Special Rapporteur was informed of Government plans to close down this institution. 31. Common problems at all pre- and post-trial prisons are the poor hygienic conditions, restricted access to health care and lack of medication as well as risk of contamination with tuberculosis and other diseases. Whereas the Special Rapporteur notes that the minimum norms regarding nutrition of detainees (Government Decision n. 609 of 29 May 2006) are checked on a daily basis and that, according to the financial plan of the Penitentiary Department, the food budget for 2008 had almost doubled in comparison to 2004 and is set to rise further, he also received consistent allegations regarding the poor quality and quantity of food. ...” 12.  In its report for 2009 (page 117, “Conditions of detention”), the Centre for Human Rights in Moldova (“the Human Rights Centre”, which also acts as the Moldovan Ombudsman) found, inter alia, that:
“Regarding personal hygiene, clothing and bedding, despite [the fact that] Government decision no. 609 (29 May 2006) concerning minimum daily food requirements and the issuing of items of personal hygiene provides for the issuing of soap to detainees for bathing and other sanitary-hygienic needs, this has remained unfulfilled during 2009.” 13.  In its report for 2010 (page 142 et seq. “Conditions of detention”) the Human Rights Centre found, inter alia, that:
“Failure to adhere to the statutory cell size (4 square metres per person) in the living blocks of the institution has become an unpleasant problem which now affects the prison system across the entire country. ...
The same situation was confirmed during a visit to Chişinău Prison no. 13 on 9 September 2010. In some cells the living space was not proportionate to the number of detainees. During the visit, eight detainees were being held in cell no. 38, which measured 24 square metres. This situation has been seen repeatedly during visits by the Centre’s staff to the Chişinău Pre-trial Detention Centre. Similar findings were made during visits to Rusca Prison no. 7 on 19 May 2010, where six detainees were being held in a cell measuring 15.5 square metres and to Cricova Prison no. 4, where (in living block no. 7) over twenty detainees were being held in a cell measuring 65 square metres.
Overcrowding comes directly within the Ombudsman’s remit as part of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture, which on many occasions has recognised overcrowding in the country’s prisons. ...
... [T]he Prisons Department informed the Ombudsman that meat and fish products are provided [to detainees] whenever possible. At the same time, the authority stated that, owing to the difficult financial situation, during 2010 the detainees in Rezina Prison no. 17 received only 75% and 80% of their normal quotas of meat and fish products respectively. In this connection, the Minister of Justice provided information to the Ombudsman about the expenditure on prisoners’ food in 2010. The cost amounted to MDL 24.05 million, whereas the budgetary need for the same year was, according to the Ministry of Finance’s draft budget, MDL 29.05 million. The daily cost of feeding a detainee in 2010 was MDL 10.24, whilst the daily budgetary need was MDL 12.35. This statistic was often cited by prison authorities to justify why they were unable to provide detainees with meat and fish.
...
As regards sanitary conditions, lighting and ventilation problems continue to exist in the majority of living blocks in Moldovan prisons, with the exception of Taraclia Prison no. 1 and Rusca Prison no. 7.
The Republic of Moldova inherited old gulag-type prisons in dilapidated buildings, corresponding to former Soviet standards. The prisons do not conform to current national and international standards; however, the budget constraints upon the State do not allow for their reconstruction or renovation.
 In the prisons, with the exception of Taraclia Prison no. 1, detainees are held in large-capacity cells insufficiently equipped for their daily needs, namely areas for sleeping, for everyday living and for sanitary equipment. Detainees are held in extremely overcrowded, dark, damp and unventilated spaces full of cigarette smoke. In certain prisons the bunk beds essentially prevent daylight from reaching the living space.”