5.  The applicant was born in 1983 and lives in the Moscow region. 6.  The applicant was a member of a public association, the National Bolshevik Party. On 15 November 2005 the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation ordered its dissolution. On 19 January 2006 the Federal Registration Service of the Ministry of Justice refused an application for registration of a political party under the same name. Party members challenged the refusal before the Taganskiy District Court of Moscow. 7.  On 13 April 2006 fifteen party members, including the applicant, attended the Taganskiy District Court for a hearing concerning the refusal to register the National Bolshevik Party. The applicant alleged that near the court building they had been attacked by a group of forty people and had had to defend themselves. According to the Government, the party members, including the applicant, had assaulted passers-by with gas guns and rubber truncheons. 8.  On 15 May 2006 the applicant attended an assembly of members of the National Bolshevik Party. The police broke down the door and arrested him. 9.  On 16 May 2006 the applicant was charged with participation in mass disorder, involving the use of gas guns and assault and battery, an offence under Article 213 § 2 of the Criminal Code. 10.  The investigator applied to the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow for a custody order. He submitted that the applicant had been charged with a serious criminal offence, had no permanent place of residence in Moscow and had been previously fined in administrative proceedings for commission of disorderly acts. Therefore, there were reasons to believe that he might abscond or reoffend. 11.  On 17 May 2006 the Tverskoy District Court ordered the applicant’s placement in custody, referring to the gravity of the charge and the risk of his absconding or reoffending. 12.  The applicant appealed. He complained that the District Court had disregarded pertinent facts such as his lack of a criminal record, his permanent residence and positive references and his frail health. The conclusion that he might flee or reoffend was hypothetical and was not supported by relevant facts. 13.  On 7 June 2006 the Moscow City Court upheld the decision on appeal, finding that it had been lawful, well-reasoned and justified. Before ordering the applicant’s placement in custody the District Court had reviewed the materials submitted by the prosecution and had taken into account the applicant’s character and personal situation. 14.  On 30 October 2006 a member of Parliament offered his personal guarantee that the applicant would not abscond. 15.  On 14 September 2006 the Tverskoy District Court extended the applicant’s detention until 15 November 2006, finding that there was no reason to vary the preventive measure. On 18 December 2006 the Moscow City Court upheld the extension order on appeal, finding that it had been lawful and justified. 16.  On 13 November 2006 the Tverskoy District Court extended the applicant’s detention until 16 January 2007 for the same reasons as before. On 10 January 2007 the Moscow City Court upheld the extension order on appeal. 17.  On an unspecified date in December 2006 an additional charge of infliction of injuries, an offence under Article 112 § 2 of the Criminal Code, was brought against the applicant. 18.  On 16 January 2007 the Tverskoy District Court extended the applicant’s detention until 16 March 2007, referring to the gravity of the charges, the risk that he might abscond, reoffend or interfere with the proceedings and the need for further investigation. 19.  In his appeal submissions the applicant asked to be released on bail. On 14 February 2007 the Moscow City Court upheld the extension order on appeal, finding that it had been lawful, well-reasoned and justified. 20.  On an unspecified date the investigation was completed and six defendants including the applicant were committed for trial. 21.  On 12 March 2007 the Taganskiy District Court of Moscow scheduled a preliminary hearing for 20 March 2007 and held that all the defendants should remain in custody. It found that the defendants had been charged with a serious offence committed by an organised group, some members of which had not yet been identified, referred to the defendants’ characters and concluded that they might abscond or intimidate the victims and witnesses. 22.  On 27 March 2007 the Taganskiy District Court held a preliminary hearing. It refused the defendants’ requests for release, citing the gravity of the charges against them and the risk of their absconding, reoffending or obstructing justice. In respect of the applicant’s “character” the court noted that he had a record of administrative offences. 23.  On 24 May 2007 the Taganskiy District Court remitted the case for further investigation and ordered that all the defendants should remain in custody. It found that the defendants’ characters and the gravity of the charges against them gave reasons to believe that they might abscond, reoffend or interfere with the proceedings. In respect of the applicant’s “character” the court noted that he had a record of administrative offences. 24.  On 29 June 2007 the Tverskoy District Court extended the applicant’s detention until 6 August 2007. The court found that the case involved several defendants and was complex. Some of the defendants had been at large for a long time and some accomplices had not yet been identified. The complexity of the case justified the length of the applicant’s detention. Given the gravity of the charges against the applicant, his record of administrative offences and his unemployment, he might abscond or interfere with the establishment of the truth in some other way if released. 25.  In his appeal submissions the applicant repeated his arguments that the District Court’s conclusions had not been supported by relevant facts, while he had produced a personal guarantee from a member of Parliament and had demonstrated that he had positive references. He also argued that the case was not complex and claimed that his detention had exceeded “a reasonable time”. On 1 August 2007 the Moscow City Court upheld the extension order on appeal, finding that it had been lawful and justified. 26.  On an unspecified date the defendants were again committed for trial. 27.  On 26 July 2007 the Taganskiy District Court scheduled a preliminary hearing for 8 August 2007 and ordered that the defendants should remain in custody in the meantime. The court found that the defendants had been charged with a serious offence committed by an organised group, some members of which had not yet been identified, and concluded that they might abscond or intimidate the victims and witnesses. It further noted that the defendants’ assurances that they had no intention of absconding were unconvincing, and held that there was no reason to apply a more lenient preventive measure. 28.  On 8 August 2007 the Taganskiy District Court held a preliminary hearing and ordered that all the defendants should remain in custody for the same reasons as before. 29.  On 12 September 2007 the applicant and his co-defendants lodged applications for release with the Taganskiy District Court. On the same day the Taganskiy District Court rejected the applications. It noted that the defendants’ arguments had already been examined and rejected many times when the extension orders had been issued. It found that the grounds for the defendants’ detention mentioned in the extension orders were still pertinent and that it was still necessary to hold them in custody. The defendants had been charged with a serious criminal offence committed by an organised group, some members of which had not yet been identified. Given the gravity of the charges against them, they might abscond, reoffend or interfere with the establishment of the truth if released. 30.  On 26 December 2007 the Taganskiy District Court extended the defendants’ detention until 12 April 2008. It found that the grounds for their detention mentioned in the previous extension orders were still pertinent and that a risk remained of their absconding, reoffending or obstructing justice. The court also noted that the defendants’ arguments about the absence of corpus delicti in their actions and about the lack of evidence of their involvement in the commission of the offence in question were without substance because, in extending the defendants’ detention, the court could not make any findings as to their guilt or innocence. 31.  On 24 March 2008 the Taganskiy District Court convicted the defendants as charged and sentenced the applicant to two years and six months’ imprisonment.