LABITA v. ITALY JUDGMENT – JOINT PARTLY DISSENTING OPINION 46 restructuring. In addition, in his note of 12 December 1996 (see paragraph 50 of the judgment) the President of the court responsible for the execution of sentences explained that the “abuse and irregularities” witnessed at Pianosa resulted from the fact that warders had been recruited from other prisons and given “carte blanche”. 3. We also attach particular importance to the fact that, before the Commission, the Government acknowledged that the applicant had been ill-treated and contested none of his allegations concerning the prison warders' conduct. Furthermore, in their observations before the Commission, the Government themselves described that conduct as “appalling”. Indeed, it was largely on the basis of the Government's admission of the facts that the Commission concluded in its report that there had been a violation of Article 3 (see paragraph 120 of the Commission's report). Nor did the Government deny before the Court that the applicant had been subjected to the alleged treatment. They merely contended that the treatment had not attained the level of severity required to constitute a violation of Article 3. In the light of the foregoing, we consider that there were sufficiently strong, precise and concordant inferences before the Court for it to find that the applicant was subjected to the ill-treatment of which he complained. We are also satisfied that that treatment, owing to its repugnant nature and duration, was such as to cause the applicant fear, anxiety and feelings of inferiority capable of humiliating and debasing him and that such emotions were not the inevitable consequence of imprisonment. Consequently, we consider that the treatment complained of caused the applicant humiliation and debasement that attained the level of severity required to come within the concept of “inhuman and degrading treatment” within the meaning of Article 3 and that the respondent State's responsibility is engaged.

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