Communicated on 23 February 2018
THIRD SECTION
Application no. 14551/06
Yevgeniy Viktorovich SEREBRINSKIY against Russia
and 11 other applications
(see list appended)
STATEMENT OF FACTS
1. The applicants are Russian nationals living in various regions of the Russian Federation. Their names and dates of birth are tabulated below. The facts of the cases, as submitted by the applicants, may be summarised as follows.
2. On various dates between 2005 and 2016 the applicants were criminally prosecuted and convicted for various offences under the Russian legislation in force.
3. In the course of the relevant proceedings the applicants sought attendance and examination of certain defence witnesses mentioned in the table below. The domestic courts in some cases granted the requests to call and examine defence witnesses and refused them in others.
4. The applicant in the case no. 1798/17 was allegedly held in a metal cage in the courtroom during the hearings of 14 June, 16 June, 20 June and 21 June 2016 of the Sovetskiy Town Court of the Kaliningrad Region.
COMPLAINTS
5. The applicants complain under Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (d) of the Convention about inability to obtain attendance and examination of defence witnesses
6. The applicant in the case no. 1798/17 complained, under Article 3 of the Convention, that his confinement in a metal cage during proceedings before the Sovetskiy Town Court of the Kaliningrad Region amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment.
COMMON QUESTIONS
1. Did the applicants have a fair hearing in the determination of the criminal charges against them, in accordance with Article 6 § 1 of the Convention? Specifically, were the applicants able to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on their behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him as required by Article 6 § 3 (d) of the Convention?
2. Did the applicants provide the domestic courts with reasons justifying the need to examine respective defence witnesses in court (see Dorokhov v. Russia, no. 66802/01, §§ 67-72, 14 February 2008)? Was the examination of these persons necessary for the establishment of the truth or was their absence prejudicial to the defence rights (Guilloury v. France, no. 62236/00, § 55, 22 June 2006 with further reference)?
3. In the circumstances of the present cases and having regard to the applicants’ arguments, were the domestic courts required to ensure the attendance and examination of the respective defence witnesses at the hearings? What were the reasons advanced by the domestic courts for their decisions to call or refuse to call respective defence witnesses or to continue the proceedings in their absence?
4. Did the domestic courts secure the overall fairness of the proceedings as guaranteed by Article 6 §§ 1 and 3(d) of the Convention.
CASE SPECIFIC QUESTION
Application no. 1798/17. Was the applicant subjected to degrading treatment, in breach of Article 3 of the Convention, on account of his confinement in a metal cage during the criminal proceedings against him (see Svinarenko and Slyadnev v. Russia [GC], nos. 32541/08 and 43441/08, §§ 113-39, ECHR 2014 (extracts))?
The Government are invited to provide a detailed description and photographs of the metal cage used to confine the applicant in the courtroom concerned.
APPENDIX
No.
Application
no.
Lodged on
Applicant name
date of birth
place of residence
Represented by
Final judgment
Defence witness(es)
14551/06*
23/03/2006
Yevgeniy Viktorovich SEREBRINSKIY
Izhevsk
Ruslan Minesabirovich GABZULATINOV
Supreme Court of Udmurtiya Republic, 27 September 2005
defense witnesses Mr Shaykhutdinov, Ms Kukushkina
64141/11*
04/10/2011
Viktor Aleksandrovich LUKOVENKO
06/04/1985
Ulan-Ude
Aleksandr Vitalyevich VASILYEV
Moscow City Court, 23 May 2011
defense witness Ms Terpugova
74750/11*
29/11/2011
Andrey Yuryevich ZABOLOTSKIY
13/04/1976
Donskoy, Tula region
Mikhail Vladimirovich SIDORKIN
Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, 11 October 2011
defense witness Mr Izotov
78599/11*
18/11/2011
Pavel Vyacheslavovich YELKIN
01/07/1985
Kursk
Andrey Alekseyevich SMETSKOY
Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, 31 May 2011
defense witnesses Ms Zalibekova, Ms Yelkina, Ms Churilova, Ms Belozyorova, Mr Taratukhin, Mr Deulin, Ms Kholopova, Mr Aaganin, Ms Chelnakova
78905/12*
03/12/2012
Vyacheslav Vladimirovich ZABEGALOV
11/05/1961
Potma,
Republic of Mordoviya
Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, 14 June 2012
defense witness Mrs Philippova
3260/14*
23/12/2013
Sergey Aleksandrovich SHKALYAR
29/07/1984
St Petersburg
Artem Aleksandrovich RASSOKHIN
St Petersburg City Court, 2 July 2013
defence witnesses Ms Kholmacheva and "Olga"
61973/14*
02/09/2014
Pavel Vladimirovich YASTREBOV
19/04/1996
Lyubertsy, Moscow region
Antonina Viktorovna ABRAMOVA
Moscow City Court, 3 March 2014
defense witnesses Mr Samarin and Mr Gasanov
73332/14*
05/11/2014
Roman Viktorovich NIKOLAYENKO
24/08/1981
Rostov-na-Donu
Mikhail Anatolyevich GRANOVSKIY
Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, 7 May 2014
defense witness Mr Ratiya
37259/15
06/07/2015
Andrey Valeryevich CHILYAKOV
16/12/1988
Chelyabinsk
Raul Amurovich KHASHIMOV
Chelyabinsk Regional Court, 16 January 2015
defence witness Ponkratyev
46205/15*
02/09/2015
Sergey Vyacheslavovich YELISEYEV
22/09/1964
Taganrog, Rostov region
Sergey Borisovich KHOMENKO
Rostov Regional Court, 4 March 201
defence witnesses Kulakov and Dressen
1798/17*
09/12/2016
Yevgeniy Borisovich ZHURAVLEV
10/03/1992
Sovetsk, Kaliningrad region
Aleksandr Yevgenyevich VIKHAREV
Kaliningrad Regional Court, 25 August 2016
defence witnesses Ms and Mr Danilenko
74582/17*
13/09/2017
Mikhail Vyacheslavovich GERASIMOV
11/01/1980
Komsomolsk-na-Amure
Military Court of Dalnevostochniy Command, 17 May 2017
defence witnesses Bolshikhshapov, Berestova
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy