7.  The applicant was born in 1964 and is now serving her sentence in Irkutsk. 8.  On 5 March 1998 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of having arranged a contracted murder of two persons in 1995 and 1996. On the following day, pursuant to an order of the Usolye-Sibirskoye district prosecutor, she was remanded in custody for ten days. The order referred to the gravity of the “committed crime” and the applicant’s potential to interfere with the establishment of the truth. 9.  On 16 March 1998 the prosecutor authorised the applicant’s detention pending investigation. On 15 April 1998 the Irkutsk Regional Prosecutor authorised an extension of the applicant’s detention until 27 August 1998. The decision summarised the collected evidence and referred to the need for additional investigative actions. 10.  On 24 November 1998 a deputy Prosecutor General extended the applicant’s detention until 27 February 1999, noting that further investigation was needed. 11.  On 16 February and 18 May 1999 the acting Prosecutor General authorised extensions of the applicant’s detention until 27 May 1999 and 5 September 1999 for the reason that the defendants had not completed studying the file. By 5 September 1999 the applicant had spent eighteen months in custody. 12.  On 26 August 1999 the Irkutsk Regional Court, further to the request by the Regional Prosecutor, extended the applicant’s detention for an additional four months, until 27 December 1999. By way of justification, the Regional Court referred to the substantial volume of the case file (ten binders) and to the fact that the defendants had been charged with particularly serious crimes. 13.  On 24 December 1999 the case was referred to the Irkutsk Regional Court for trial. 14.  On 13 January 2000 the Regional Court returned the case for additional investigation. 15.  On 21 April 2000 the prosecutor’s office received the case file. The Regional Prosecutor granted an extension of the applicant’s detention until 21 May 2000. 16.  On 29 May 2000 the Regional Court, at the request of the Regional Prosecutor, extended the applicant’s detention until 21 July 2000 on the grounds that the defendants were charged with particularly serious crimes, that the case-file comprised eleven binders and that the defendants could abscond. 17.  On 21 July 2000 the case was referred for trial for the second time. 18.  On 31 July 2000 the Regional Court returned the case to the investigators because the applicant had not been afforded sufficient time for studying the file. It ordered that the applicant remain in custody in view of the gravity of the charges against her. 19.  On 17 October 2000 the Regional Prosecutor’s office received the file and extended the applicant’s detention until 12 November 2000. 20.  On 4 November 2000 the Regional Prosecutor asked the Regional Court for extension of the applicant’s detention until 12 February 2001 with a view to affording her additional time for studying the case file. 21.  On 13 November 2000 the Regional Court, sitting in a single-judge formation, granted the request. The entire reasoning read as follows:
“The present case comprises twelve volumes; [the reading of the case-file] is progressing slowly. [The applicant and two co-defendants] are charged with serious crimes, reading of the file requires a long time. Moreover, [the applicant and two co-defendants] may flee from investigation and justice or exercise pressure on witnesses and other persons; therefore, I consider it possible to extend the defendants’ period of detention by three months”. 22.  The applicant’s lawyer, Mr Kotov, appealed against the decision of 13 November 2000. He submitted, in particular, that the Russian law did not allow the prosecutor to ask for a further extension of detention after return of the case for additional investigation. 23.  On 10 January 2001 the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation upheld the decision of 13 November 2000, finding as follows:
“The charges against [the applicant and two co-defendants] (including participation in an organised gang, several counts of murder...) are classified as particularly serious ones and, in the circumstances of the case, the investigation reasonably considered that the defendants should remain in custody.
The request for extension of pre-trial detention was examined by the Irkutsk Regional Court in compliance with Article 97 of the RSFSR Code on Criminal Procedure; the defendants, their counsel, prosecutor and other interested parties were summoned to the court; [the applicant and a co-defendant] appeared in person... Judicial examination was compatible with the requirements of the RSFSR Code on Criminal Procedure and the Russian Constitution.
The decision made by the judge is compatible with Article 97 of the RSFSR Code. The arguments to the effect that the court was not competent to examine that issue are contrary to the literal meaning and substance of that provision. There are no grounds to quash that decision...” 24.  On 17 January and 26 February 2001 Mr Kotov’s applications for supervisory review in respect of the decisions of 13 November 2000 and 10 January 2001 were refused. 25.  On 15 February 2001 the Regional Court authorised a further extension of the applicant’s detention until 12 March 2001. 26.  On 12 March 2001 the case was referred for trial for the third time. 27.  On 3 April 2001 the Regional Court returned the case for additional investigation on the grounds that the defence rights had been unlawfully curtailed. It ordered that the defendants remain in custody in view of the gravity of the charges against them. 28.  It is not clear when the case was again referred to the Irkutsk Regional Court for trial. The Government submitted that the Supreme Court had been unable to establish the date on the basis of the case file. Nor had it been possible to find out why no hearing had been fixed until 14 May 2002. 29.  On 15 and 19 May 2002 hearings were adjourned at the applicant’s request. On 24 June and 1 July 2002 hearings were postponed because counsel for the applicant did not appear. 30.  On 8 July 2002 the Regional Court granted an extension of the three defendants’ detention until 1 August 2002, referring solely to the gravity of the charges against them. 31.  On 25 July 2002 the Regional Court commissioned a supplementary expert study, suspended the proceedings and remanded the defendants in custody until 1 November 2002, noting the gravity of the charges. 32.  On 30 October 2002 the Regional Court authorised a further extension of the three defendants’ detention until 1 February 2003, citing the gravity of the charges. 33.  On 29 January 2003 the Regional Court extended the defendants’ detention until 1 May 2003, noting that they were charged with serious criminal offences and, having regard to their “character”, they would abscond if released. 34.  On 30 April 2003 the Irkutsk Regional Court found the applicant guilty on several counts of murder and sentenced her to thirteen years’ imprisonment, account being taken of the time already served.