5.  The applicant was born in 1961 and is currently detained in a penitentiary institution in the Kherson region, awaiting his extradition to Turkmenistan. The applicant’s lawyer claims that the applicant is a stateless person. According to the Government, the applicant is a Turkmen national. The applicant himself does not deny his Turkmen nationality and has not raised the issue of his allegedly stateless status before the Ukrainian authorities. 6.  On 7 July 1999 the Turkmen law-enforcement authorities issued a bill of indictment against the applicant for inflicting light and grievous bodily harm on two individuals on 4 June 1999 (the latter, more serious crime is punishable by five to ten years’ imprisonment under the Criminal Code of Turkmenistan). The same day the Turkmen police ordered the applicant’s arrest. This latter decision was approved by the Ashgabat Azatlyksky District Prosecutor on 8 July 1999. 7.  On 12 July 1999 a search for the applicant was announced by the police. 8.  The applicant left Turkmenistan in October 1999 because of his alleged persecution on ethnic grounds. Since then he has resided in Ukraine. 9.  On 4 January 2007 the applicant was apprehended by the police. According to the applicant his relatives were informed that he had been arrested for hooliganism and later they were informed he had been arrested under Article 106 of the Code of Criminal Procedure under an international search warrant. 10.  The same day the applicant was informed that he was wanted by the law-enforcement authorities of Turkmenistan. According to the applicant, the police officers persuaded him to refrain from asking for legal assistance under the pretext that all procedural steps in his criminal case would be conducted in the territory of Turkmenistan. 11.  The same day the Kherson Police Department received an official request from the Turkmen authorities for the applicant’s provisional arrest under the CIS Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters, 1993. 12.  On 8 January 2007 the applicant was allowed to see a lawyer. 13.  On 10 January 2007 the applicant was brought by the police before a judge of the Kakhovsky District Court of the Kherson Region, who ordered his detention pending the extradition proceedings against him. The decision, which stated that an appeal could be made under Article 165-2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, was served immediately. No time-limit was set for his detention. 14.  The same day the applicant was questioned by the Gornostaevsky District Prosecutor, to whom he explained, inter alia, that prior to his arrest he had not been aware that he had been wanted by the Turkmen law-enforcement authorities. He further explained that he had signed a waiver of assistance from a lawyer since the police had explained to him that he would not face a trial in Ukraine. 15.  On 15 January 2007 the applicant requested the Court to apply Rule 39 of the Rules of Court in his case. On 16 January 2007 the President of the Chamber decided to apply Rule 39, indicating to the Government that it would be desirable in the interests of the parties and the proper conduct of the proceedings not to extradite the applicant to Turkmenistan pending the Court’s decision. 16.  On 19 January 2007 the General Prosecutor’s Office of Turkmenistan requested the applicant’s extradition with a view to criminal prosecution for the crimes of inflicting light and grievous bodily harm on two individuals. It further gave assurances that the applicant would be prosecuted only for the crimes indicated in the request, that he would be allowed to leave Turkmenistan after serving his sentence, and that he would not be handed over to a third country without the consent of the Ukrainian authorities. It added that he had never been and would never be discriminated against on the grounds of social status, race, ethnic origin or religious beliefs. This request was received by the General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine on 30 January 2007. It appears that the applicant learned about this document only in the framework of the Convention proceedings. 17.  On 31 January 2007 the General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine informed the General Prosecutor’s Office of Turkmenistan of the suspension of the extradition proceedings pursuant to the interim measure indicated by the Court. 18.  On 5 February 2007 the Gornostaevsky Prosecutor’s Office sent a petition to the head of the Gornostaevsky Police Department, stating that the applicant’s detention had breached criminal procedural law. According to the petition, the applicant had been arrested on 4 January 2007 and placed in a cell at the police station in accordance with the arrest warrant issued by the Ashgabat Azatlyksky District Prosecutor’s Office of Turkmenistan. The prosecutor noted that from 4 to 10 January 2007 the police had not brought the applicant before a court to decide on his detention and had not informed the prosecutor about his detention. The prosecutor considered that the situation had arisen because of the police officers’ negligent performance of their duties and called for disciplinary action to be taken against them. 19.  By orders of 20 February and 15 March 2007 the police officers responsible for the applicant’s detention in violation of the law were punished by an oral warning, a formal reprimand and deprivation of bonus payments for one month. 20.  In a letter of 19 April 2007 the First Deputy Prosecutor General of Turkmenistan, in reply to the request from the Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s Office, informed it that the observance of the applicant’s rights and legitimate interests would be guaranteed, in particular:
“- the requirements of Article 3 of the Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms will be fulfilled in respect of N.I. Soldatenko, he will not be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment after extradition;
- in case of necessity he will be provided with appropriate medical treatment and medical assistance;
- the right to fair judicial consideration of his criminal case will be secured to him.”
He further pointed out that the death penalty had been abolished in Turkmenistan.