Richiedere a un detenuto di fornire prova dell’avvenuta conversione viola la sua libertà di religione

This short contribution provides a comment of the judgment of the European Court on Human Rights in the case of Neagu v. Romania (application no. 21969/15), in which the Court found a violation of Article 9 (right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case concerned a prisoner who had converted to Islam while in detention. He complained of the refusal of the Romanian authorities to provide him with pork-free meals, in accordance with the precepts of his religion, unless he furnished proof that he was an adherent of that religion. The Court found that, bearing in mind the provisions introduced by the order of the Ministry of Justice requiring, among other things, written proof of a change of religion occurring in the course of detention, the national authorities had upset the fair balance to be struck between the interests of the prison, those of the other prisoners, and the individual interests of the prisoner concerned. The analysis of the case, and specifically of the dissenting opinions, shows that while the principle enunciated by the Court should be fully embraced, its application in the case of Mr Neagu is not so straight-forward.