5.  The applicant was born in 1968 and lives in the Rostov region. 6.  On 12 March 2003 the prosecutor’s office opened criminal proceedings against the applicant and three other persons on suspicion of fraud. The applicant was suspected of forging payment orders using a counterfeit seal of a private company. His alleged accomplices had obtained large amounts of diesel fuel using the forged payment orders. 7.  On the same day the applicant was arrested. 8.  On 14 March 2003 the investigator asked the Leninskiy District Court of Rostov-on-Don to remand the applicant in custody. In support of his request he stated as follows:
“Taking into account that at present the investigation does not have enough evidence to bring charges against [the applicant] and that the crime committed by him is serious, [the applicant], if left at liberty, may abscond, conceal the yet undiscovered evidence of his criminal activity, interfere with the establishment of the truth or re-offend.” 9.  On the same day the Leninskiy District Court remanded the applicant in custody in the following terms:
“The court considers that the investigator’s request should be granted for the following reasons. It is clear from the materials submitted [by the investigator] that the applicant was involved in the forgery of documents of the private company ‘Svetlana’ and possessed the seals of that company... During the search in [the applicant’s] flat many seals, seal matrices and parts for seal manufacturing ... were found. However, no seals or stamps of the ‘Svetlana’ company were discovered. Given that [the applicant] is suspected of committing a serious criminal offence, there are grounds to believe that if left at liberty, he may obstruct the investigation and destroy physical evidence.” 10.  On 19 March 2003 the applicant was formally charged with fraud. 11.  On 28 April 2003 the investigator applied to the Leninskiy District Court for an extension of the applicant’s detention. He submitted that the applicant was refusing to disclose evidence and was giving false testimony, trying to escape criminal responsibility. Given the gravity of the charges against him, he might obstruct the investigation by putting pressure on witnesses or destroying physical evidence, in particular the counterfeit seals of the “Svetlana” company which he had concealed from the investigation. There was also a risk of his re-offending. 12.  The applicant asked to be released on bail or personal surety. He submitted that no seals of the “Svetlana” company or any other evidence of his involvement in the fraud had been found in his flat, that he had no criminal record, had positive references and permanent employment and residence in the Rostov Region. His father was disabled and he had to look after him. 13.  On 30 April 2003 the Leninskiy District Court rejected the applicant’s request for release and extended his detention until 5 June 2003. It found that it was necessary to perform additional investigative measures, in particular to obtain several expert opinions and to confront the applicant and his co-defendants with witnesses. Given that the applicant was charged with a serious criminal offence committed in criminal conspiracy and had no permanent place of residence in Rostov-on-Don, he might abscond, put pressure on witnesses who had not yet been questioned or interfere with the investigation in some other way. 14.  On 5 May 2003 the applicant appealed. He submitted that the court’s conclusions that he might abscond or obstruct the investigation had been hypothetical and had not been supported by facts. The court had disregarded the facts mitigating the risk of his absconding, such as his clean criminal record, positive references, permanent place of residence and an ailing parent. The applicant also doubted the necessity of further investigation, given that no investigative actions had been carried out during the previous two months. 15.  On 16 May 2003 the Rostov Regional Court upheld the extension order on appeal, finding that it had been lawful, well reasoned and justified. The appeal hearing took place in the presence of the prosecutor. Counsel for the applicant had not been informed of the date of the appeal hearing and was absent. The applicant was not brought to the courtroom either. 16.  On 30 May 2003 counsel for the applicant lodged an application for supervisory review of the decision of 16 May 2003. The Rostov Regional Court received the application on 4 June 2003. 17.  On 17 June 2003 the Rostov Regional Court reviewed the application, started the supervisory review proceedings and forwarded the application to the Presidium of the Rostov Regional Court for examination on the merits. 18.  On 3 July 2003 the Presidium of the Rostov Regional Court quashed the appeal decision of 16 May 2003, finding that the failure to notify counsel of the date of the hearing was a serious breach of procedure requiring a re-examination of the applicant’s appeal. 19.  On 16 July 2003 the Rostov Regional Court held a new appeal hearing and upheld the extension order of 30 April 2003, finding that it had been lawful and justified. The fact that the applicant had a permanent place of residence could not guarantee that he would not abscond. His submissions that no investigation had been carried out were not persuasive as they were not supported by evidence. 20.  On 4 June 2003 the Leninskiy District Court extended the applicant’s detention until 5 August 2003, referring to the gravity of the charge, the risk of his absconding and the need for further investigation. The court also mentioned that the applicant did not have a permanent place of residence in Rostov-on-Don. 21.  The applicant appealed, offering to sign an undertaking not to leave his place of residence and an obligation to appear. 22.  On 20 June 2003 the Rostov Regional Court upheld the extension order on appeal. 23.  On 4 August 2003 the Leninskiy District Court extended the applicant’s detention until 5 October 2003. It found that the applicant had been charged with a serious criminal offence and had no permanent place of residence in Rostov-on-Don. Two of his accomplices who had previously absconded testified that they had done so on the applicant’s instructions. Moreover, there were reasons to believe that the applicant possessed a counterfeit seal of the “Svetlana” company. As the seal had not yet been found, the applicant could destroy it if released. The court concluded from the above that the applicant might abscond or obstruct the investigation. 24.  On 12 August 2003 counsel for the applicant dispatched her appeal submissions in which she complained that she had not been informed of the date of the hearing and had been absent. She further asked the court to release the applicant against an undertaking not to leave his place of residence. 25.  The Leninskiy District Court received the appeal submissions on 18 August 2003 and sent them to the investigator, inviting him to submit comments by 27 August 2003. The appeal submissions and the comments received were forwarded to the Rostov Regional Court. 26.  On 29 August 2003 the Rostov Regional Court examined the applicant’s appeal submissions and quashed the extension order on account of the failure to notify counsel of the date of the hearing. It ordered a new hearing and held that the applicant should remain in custody in the meantime. 27.  On 9 September 2003 the Leninskiy District Court extended the applicant’s detention until 5 October 2003. It repeated the reasons cited in the detention order of 4 August 2003 and added that there was a need for further investigation. In particular, it was necessary to question the applicant and his co-defendants, to draft a bill of indictment and to ensure that the defendants had sufficient time to study the case file. 28.  On 18 September 2003 counsel for the applicant dispatched her appeal submissions, asking that the applicant be released against an undertaking not to leave his place of residence, and repeating the arguments set forth in the previous appeal submissions. 29.   The Rostov Regional Court received the appeal submissions on 23 September 2003 and sent them to the investigator, inviting him to submit comments by 1 October 2003. 30.  On 3 October 2003 the Rostov Regional Court upheld the extension order on appeal, finding that it had been lawful, well reasoned and justified. The District Court had taken into account the applicant’s character, the gravity of the charges against him and the absence of a permanent place of residence. 31.  On 3 October 2003 the Leninskiy District Court extended the applicant’s detention until 5 November 2003 for the same reasons as before. 32.  On 24 October 2003 the Rostov Regional Court upheld the extension order on appeal. It found that the District Court’s conclusion that the applicant might abscond had been reasonable given the gravity of the charge against the applicant. There was no reason to vary the preventive measure. 33.  On 3 November 2003 the Leninskiy District Court extended the applicant’s detention until 5 December 2003. The court noted that the investigation had been completed and the defendants were studying the case file. It held that the applicant could not be released as he was charged with a serious criminal offence and his detention was necessary to prevent a possible obstruction of justice and to ensure the execution of a prospective penalty. 34.  On 5 December 2003 the Leninskiy District Court extended the applicant’s detention until 5 January 2004 for the same reasons as before. 35.  On 5 January 2004 four defendants, including the applicant, were committed for trial. 36.  On 22 January 2004 the Gukovo Town Court of the Rostov Region fixed a preliminary hearing for 5 February 2004 and ordered that the defendants should remain in custody. The preliminary hearing was later re-scheduled for 10 February 2004. 37.  On 10 February 2005 the Gukovo Town Court held a preliminary hearing and ordered that the defendants should remain in custody. 38.  On 22 March 2004 the Gukovo Town Court convicted the applicant and his co-defendants of fraud committed in criminal conspiracy. It sentenced the applicant to two years’ imprisonment subject to three years’ probation. 39.  On 25 May 2004 the Rostov Regional Court upheld the judgment on appeal.