Communicated on 12 September 2019
THIRD SECTION
Application no. 34695/18
Aleksandr Ivanovich ARZAMASOV against Russia
and 8 other applications
(see list appended)
STATEMENT OF FACTS
1. The applicants are co-defendants in criminal proceedings. In 2014 and 2015, they were charged with conspiracy to commit murders and armed robberies operating as a criminal syndicate.
2. On 18 November 2016 the case was submitted for trial before the Supreme Court of the Tatarstan Republic. On 21 February 2017 the Supreme Court fixed the opening date of the trial for 6 March 2017.
3. Throughout the trial, the applicants followed the proceedings from the inside of a glass dock («стеклянный шкаф»). The glass dock had two or three sections, each of them equipped with a wooden bench. There was no desk or other flat surface for reading documents or taking notes. A two‑metre-high glass partition surrounding the dock muffled the sound of the words spoken in the courtroom and restricted circulation of air. The applicants could talk to their lawyers through a narrow slit hole. Their discussions were within earshot of convoy officers who were stationed around the glass dock. Convoy officers also reviewed the documents passed between the applicants and counsel. On 5 June, 19 and 21 September and 30 October 2007 Mr Ionov, Mr Sadriyev, Mr Yelistratov and Mr Arzamasov unsuccessfully complained to the presiding judge of the negative effect that the harsh conditions of their transport and detention in the courthouse’s holding cells and glass dock had on their right to defend themselves.
4. On 28 December 2017 the applicants were convicted on most charges and given custodial sentences. They appealed against the conviction.
5. From 20 March to 18 June 2018 the applicants studied the trial record and documents in the case-file on the premises of the Supreme Court of Tatarstan. Documents were made available in two- to six-square metres glass docks in which the applicants were placed in groups of three to eight people.
6. On 27 August 2018 prison officers took some applicants to a video‑conferencing room. Each of them was afforded up to one hour to talk to his counsel by means of a video-link. A prison officer was present throughout the discussion.
7. On 29 August 2018 the applicants were brought to another video‑conferencing room for the purpose of following an appeal hearing before the Supreme Court of Russia. A wooden partition divided the room into two smaller spaces. Each space contained a metal cage with a single three-seat wooden bench. One cage had a floor surface of 1.92 square metres; the other, 2.7 square metres. Six applicants were placed in each cage; three of them – for whom there were no seats on the bench - remained on their feet throughout the hearing. In their opening statements, Mr Arzamasov, Mr Ionov and Mr Alekseyev complained to the Supreme Court of an extremely restricted space inside the cage, the absence of any flat surface for taking notes, and lack of confidential communication with their counsel who were physically present in the courtroom of the Supreme Court. Judge B. replied that those matters “fell outside the [Supreme Court]’s competence” and “did not affect the defendants’ right to defence”. The appeal hearing lasted from 10.20 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2.10 p.m. to 4 p.m. on 29 August and from 10.20 a.m. to 11.50 a.m. and from 1.20 p.m. to 5 p.m. on 30 August, for a total of nine hours and 40 minutes.
8. On 30 August 2018 the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation upheld the conviction on appeal. It rejected the applicants’ complaints of inadequate conditions of transport and detention as being “not directly relevant to [the substance of] the final judicial act” (p. 42).
COMPLAINTS
9. The applicants’ complaints are set out in the Appendix.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Having regard to the Court’s case-law (see Mariya Alekhina and Others v. Russia, no. 38004/12, §§ 140-50, 17 July 2018), was there a violation of Article 3 of the Convention on account of the conditions in which the applicants were held –
(a) during the trial and preparation of the appeal (see paragraphs 3 and 5 in the Facts section)?
(b) during the appeal hearing (see paragraph 7 of the Facts section)?
2. Did the conditions in which the applicants were held during the trial and appeal hearings undermine the fairness requirement under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention? In particular:
(a) Were the applicants afforded adequate facilities to prepare their defence, as required by Article 6 § 3 (b) of the Convention? Were the applicants provided with a desk or equivalent facilities to peruse documents and to take notes?
(b) Were the applicants able to defend themselves through legal assistance, as required by Article 6 § 3 (c) of the Convention? What were the arrangements for the applicants’ consultations with counsel? Were the applicants able to confer privately with counsel during the trial or appeal hearings (compare Khodorkovskiy and Lebedev v. Russia, nos. 11082/06 and 13772/05, §§ 741-44, 25 July 2013)?
3. The Government may, if they so wish, submit comments on the other complaints raised by the applicants which are the subject of the Court’s well-established case-law.
APPENDIX
The applicants are listed in the alphabetical order.
Date of the application form
Summary of the complaint
Aleksandr Ivanovich ARZAMASOV
Born on 30/05/1990.
Application no. 34695/18.
17/06/2018
Article 3: inhuman conditions of transport between the remand prison and the courthouse.
31/01/2019
Article 3: inhuman conditions of detention in IZ-1 (Kazan). Cells 73 and 74 from 19/02/2016 to 05/07/2017, 9 people on 25 sq.m. Cell 3 from 11/01/2018 to 03/09/2018: 12 people,
4 two-tier bunks on 30 sq. m.
17/06/2018
Article 3: inhuman conditions of detention in holding cells in the Supreme Court of Tatarstan during the trial and preparation of the appeal (see the Facts for more details).
17/06/2018
Articles 3, 6 §§ 1 and 3: holding the applicant in a glass dock throughout the trial and restrictions on discussions with counsel (see the Facts for more details).
14/11/2018
Articles 3, 6 §§ 1 and 3: holding the applicant in a metal cage during the appeal hearing and restrictions on conferring with legal-aid counsel (see the Facts for more details).
Aynur Nailovich GARIFULLIN
Born on 10/04/1993.
Application no. 41544/18.
18/08/2018
Article 3: inhuman conditions of transport between the remand prison and the Supreme Court of Tatarstan during the trial and preparation of the appeal.
18/08/2018
Article 3: inhuman conditions of detention in holding cells in the Supreme Court of Tatarstan during the trial and preparation of the appeal (see the Facts for more details).
18/08/2018
Article 6 §§ 1 and 3: holding the applicant in a glass dock throughout the trial, and restrictions on discussions with counsel (see the Facts for more details).
19/01/2019
Articles 3, 6 §§ 1 and 3: holding the applicant in a metal cage during the appeal hearing and restrictions on conferring with legal-aid counsel (see the Facts for more details).
Maksim Yevgenyevich IONOV
Born on 17/11/1982.
Application no. 81200/17.
10/08/2018
Article 3: inhuman conditions of transport between the remand prison and the Supreme Court of Tatarstan during the trial and preparation of the appeal.
10/08/2018
Article 3: inhuman conditions of detention in holding cells in the Supreme Court of Tatarstan during the trial and preparation of the appeal (see the Facts for more details).
10/08/2018
Article 6 §§ 1 and 3: holding the applicant in a glass dock throughout the trial, and restrictions on discussions with counsel (see the Facts for more details).
24/12/2018
Article 6 §§ 1 and 3: no legal-aid counsel appointed to represent the applicant at the appeal hearing.
Aleksey Yevgenyevich MISHIN
Born on 03/03/1991.
Application no. 41548/18.
18/08/2018
Article 3: inhuman conditions of transport between the remand prison and the Supreme Court of Tatarstan during the trial and preparation of the appeal.
18/08/2018
Article 3: inhuman conditions of detention in holding cells in the Supreme Court of Tatarstan during the trial and preparation of the appeal (see the Facts for more details).
18/08/2018
Article 6 §§ 1 and 3: holding the applicant in a glass dock throughout the trial, and restrictions on discussions with counsel (see the Facts for more details).
18/09/2018
Articles 3, 6 §§ 1 and 3: holding the applicant in a metal cage during the appeal hearing and restrictions on conferring with legal-aid counsel (see the Facts for more details).
Irek Ilshatovich SADRIYEVBorn on 10/08/1994.
Application no. 24927/18.
18/03/2018
Article 3: inhuman conditions of detention in holding cells and glass docks in the Supreme Court of Tatarstan (see the Facts for more details).
03/10/2018
Articles 3, 6 §§ 1 and 3: holding the applicant in a metal cage during the appeal hearing and restrictions on conferring with legal-aid counsel (see the Facts for more details).
Nikolay Aleksandrovich SAVELCHEV
Born on 06/07/1989.
Application no. 39955/18.
10/08/2018
Article 3: inhuman conditions of transport between the remand prison and the Supreme Court of Tatarstan during the trial and preparation of the appeal.
10/08/2018
Article 3: inhuman conditions of detention in holding cells in the Supreme Court of Tatarstan during the trial and preparation of the appeal (see the Facts for more details).
10/08/2018
Articles 3, 6 §§ 1 and 3: holding the applicant in a glass dock throughout the trial and preparation of the appeal, and restrictions on discussions with counsel (see the Facts for more details).
18/09/2018
Articles 3, 6 §§ 1 and 3: holding the applicant in a metal cage during the appeal hearing and restrictions on conferring with legal-aid counsel (see the Facts for more details).
Vladimir Aleksandrovich SAVELCHEV
Born on 08/08/1990.
Application no. 39843/18.
09/08/2018
Article 3: inhuman conditions of transport between the remand prison and the Supreme Court of Tatarstan during the trial and preparation of the appeal.
09/08/2018
Article 3: inhuman conditions of detention in holding cells in the Supreme Court of Tatarstan during the trial and preparation of the appeal (see the Facts for more details).
09/08/2018
Articles 3, 6 §§ 1 and 3: holding the applicant in a glass dock throughout the trial and preparation of the appeal, and restrictions on discussions with counsel (see the Facts for more details).
Ismagil Rakhisovich VALEYEV
Born on 15/03/1994.
Application no. 3576/19.
25/10/2018
Article 3: inhuman conditions of transport between the remand prison and the Supreme Court of Tatarstan during the trial and preparation of the appeal.
25/10/2018
Article 3: inhuman conditions of detention in holding cells in the Supreme Court of Tatarstan during the trial and preparation of the appeal (see the Facts for more details).
25/10/2018
Articles 3, 6 §§ 1 and 3: holding the applicant in a glass dock throughout the trial and preparation of the appeal, and restrictions on discussions with counsel (see the Facts for more details).
25/10/2018
Articles 3, 6 §§ 1 and 3: holding the applicant in a metal cage during the appeal hearing and restrictions on conferring with legal-aid counsel (see the Facts for more details).
Andrey Vyacheslavovich YELISTRATOV
Born on 16/08/1994.
Application no. 5193/19.
05/12/2018
Article 3: inhuman conditions of detention in holding cells in the Supreme Court of Tatarstan during the trial and preparation of the appeal (see the Facts for more details).
05/12/2018
Articles 3, 6 §§ 1 and 3: holding the applicant in a glass dock throughout the trial and preparation of the appeal, and restrictions on discussions with counsel (see the Facts for more details).
05/12/2018
Articles 3, 6 §§ 1 and 3: holding the applicant in a metal cage during the appeal hearing and restrictions on conferring with legal-aid counsel (see the Facts for more details).
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