Facts
The appellant X. was sentenced by the District Criminal Court of Lausanne to a custodial sentence of eighteen months, less 357 days of pre-trial detention. The court awarded him compensation of 250 francs for his detention conditions from August 10 to 20, 2012.
X. filed a criminal appeal to the Federal Tribunal against the judgment of the Criminal Appeals Chamber of the Cantonal Tribunal of Vaud, which had amended the first instance judgment by removing any compensation for unlawful detention.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal upheld the appeal and amended the contested judgment. It considered that X.'s detention conditions, namely a cell without a window and permanently lit with limited outdoor exercise, constituted degrading treatment in violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
According to the Federal Tribunal, the mere finding of the unlawfulness of the detention conditions was not sufficient in this case, given the fundamental importance of the guarantee provided by Article 3 ECHR. It therefore awarded the appellant compensation of 550 francs for the moral harm suffered, i.e. 50 francs per day of unlawful detention from August 8 to 20, 2012.
T…