In the case of Petrov v. the Republic of Moldova the held that there had been a violation of prohibition of degrading treatment taken together with the prohibition of discrimination, and a violation of the prohibition of forced labour.

The case concerned the applicant’s complaint about the “caste” system in place in Moldovan prisons, which was linked to an informal prisoner hierarchy. The applicant had been downgraded to the “lowest outcast group” and subjected to humiliating treatment and forced labour by fellow prisoners.

The Court noted that the prison system in the Republic of Moldova was faced with a structural issue linked to the existence of an informal prisoner hierarchy. It found that the applicant had endured degrading treatment at the hands of fellow prisoners over a period of years, and that the authorities, who had been fully aware of the situation, had failed to take any appropriate measures to protect him. In the Court’s view, the combination of several factors clearly demonstrated that the authorities’ inaction had not constituted a mere failure to protect him against degrading treatment in prison, but indeed a tolerance, or even condoning, of such treatment, reflecting a discriminatory attitude towards him motivated by his status in the informal prisoner hierarchy.

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