6.  The applicant was born in 1978. She lived in Vienna, Austria. 7.  On 20 February 2007 the applicant was arrested upon arrival at Domodedovo airport in Moscow. She was told that on 24 September 2006 the Belarus authorities had placed her name on the list of fugitives from justice, suspecting her of involvement in human trafficking. 8.  The applicant was taken to the Domodedovo transport police department. No arrest record was compiled. 9.  On 21 February 2007 counsel for the applicant complained to the transport prosecutor's office about the absence of an arrest record and failure to provide the applicant with food, drink and access to a toilet. It is unclear whether any response was received. 10.  On 27 February 2007 the first deputy head of the central police station of Minsk faxed a letter to the head of the Domodedovo transport police department, asking him to keep the applicant in custody. He enclosed a warrant for the applicant's arrest sanctioned by the Minsk town prosecutor on 30 August 2006. 11.  On the same day the acting Moscow Regional Prosecutor sent the following letter to the head of the Domodedovo transport police department:
“Owing to the fact that the Moscow Police Department for Air and Water Transport has no temporary detention ward, I request you to hold [the applicant] in the Domodedovo transport police department until such time as a judicial decision on application of a custodial measure has been issued.” 12.  Also on the same day, counsel for the applicant complained to a court that the applicant had already spent six days in detention without a judicial order and asked for her release. 13.  On 2 March 2007 the Domodedovo Town Court of the Moscow Region refused to deal with the complaint on the ground that no criminal proceedings against the applicant were pending in Russia. On 3 April 2007 the Moscow Regional Court upheld that decision on appeal. 14.  On 5 March 2007 the Golovinskiy District Court of Moscow dismissed the same complaint. It found that the letter from the Minsk police officer constituted a lawful basis for the applicant's detention within the meaning of the Minsk Convention until such time as the formal extradition request had been received by the Prosecutor General's Office. The District Court further determined that it was not competent to examine the application for release because it lacked territorial jurisdiction. On 28 March 2007 the Moscow Regional Court upheld that judgment on appeal. 15.  On 7 March 2007 the Prosecutor General's Office received a request for the applicant's extradition from the Belarus authorities. 16.  Counsel for the applicant complained to a court about unlawful actions of the Moscow transport prosecutor, who had permitted the applicant's detention in excess of forty-eight hours without a judicial decision, on the basis of a non-procedural communication from the Belarus authorities of 27 February 2007. 17.  On 22 March 2007 the Golovinskiy District Court of Moscow dismissed the complaint against the transport prosecutor. It found that the Belarus authorities' letter of 27 February 2007 constituted a request for the applicant's arrest pending an official request for extradition within the meaning of the Minsk Convention. The decision on the applicant's extradition and the application of a custodial measure was to be taken by the Prosecutor General's Office rather than by the Moscow transport prosecutor. In these circumstances, the transport prosecutor had acted lawfully and within his competence. On 18 April 2007 the Moscow Regional Court upheld that judgment on appeal. 18.  On 23 March 2007 the Prosecutor General's Office forwarded a copy of the extradition request to the Moscow prosecutor responsible for supervising compliance with laws in air and water transport. The prosecutor applied to a court for an arrest warrant in respect of the applicant. 19.  On 26 March 2007 the Domodedovo Town Court granted the prosecutor's application and remanded the applicant in custody. The Town Court founded its decision on the facts that the applicant was charged with a criminal offence carrying a prison term of more than one year and that the extradition request was pending. Noting the applicant's “character” and state of health, the Town Court held that no grounds for applying a more lenient preventive measure had been shown to exist. 20.  The applicant and her counsel lodged appeals. They pointed out that the applicant had a permanent place of residence and employment in Moscow and that her health had deteriorated as a consequence of being detained in the police cell. 21.  On 19 April 2007 the Moscow Regional Court upheld the detention order on appeal. It rejected the applicant's arguments about her residence in Moscow on the basis of a certificate from the Federal Migration Service which showed that her residence in the Moscow Region had not been formally registered. 22.  Replying to a complaint by the applicant's lawyer, on 11 April 2007 the senior assistant to the Moscow transport prosecutor admitted that no arrest record had been compiled in respect of the applicant at the Domodedovo transport police department because it had not been required by law in cases of extradition. 23.  On 25 April 2007 the Constitutional Court confirmed to the applicant that it had been its constant case-law to require a judicial decision for any deprivation of liberty in excess of forty-eight hours and also to require effective judicial supervision of detention matters. These requirements were likewise applicable to foreign nationals whose extradition was sought. 24.  On 25 April 2007 the Russian Ombudsman replied to the applicant that her complaint about unlawful detention had been forwarded for examination to the Prosecutor General's Office. On 28 May 2007 the Prosecutor General's Office wrote to the applicant's lawyer that her detention had been lawful and justified. 25.  On 5 October 2007 the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow disallowed the applicant's complaint about the Prosecutor General's failure to put an end to her unlawful detention. The District Court held that the applicant was not a party to any criminal proceedings in Russia and that she could not therefore lodge a complaint under Article 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 26.  On 11 October 2007 a deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation granted the request for the applicant's extradition to Belarus. 27.  On 22 November 2007 the Moscow City Court upheld the extradition decision on appeal and maintained the custodial measure in respect of the applicant. On 25 January 2008 the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dismissed the applicant's appeal against that decision. 28.  Upon her arrest on 20 February 2007 the applicant was placed in the cell for detention of administrative offenders (“KAZ”, комната для административно-задержанных) on the premises of the duty station of the Domodedovo transport police department (дежурная часть ЛУВД аэропорта «Домодедово»). 29.  On 9 March 2007 the applicant complained to the Prosecutor General, the Ombudsman, the Human Rights Commissioner and the President about unlawful detention in the Domodedovo transport police station in appalling conditions. She complained that she did not receive food or hygiene articles on a regular basis, that medical assistance was inadequate, and that she had had no access to fresh air for more than seventeen days. It is unclear whether she received any replies. 30.  On 26 March 2007, following the Town Court's decision on the application of a custodial measure, the applicant was transferred to remand centre no. IZ-77/6 in Moscow. 31.  The parties' description of the physical conditions of the applicant's detention at Domodedovo airport differ in certain aspects. Their submissions are summarised below. 32.  The Government submitted multiple written depositions by police officers from the Domodedovo transport police department. According to them, the applicant received food from the canteen and from her relatives. At night-time she was given a mattress, blanket and bedding from the airport hotel. She could take walks under the escort of a police officer and occasionally have a shower. A nurse came to visit her and take her blood pressure. 33.  The Government also submitted a certificate from the medical unit of the airport. It indicated that the applicant had been examined on ten occasions in connection with complaints about headaches, weakness or indisposition. 34.  The Government produced a layout plan of the Domodedovo transport police department, showing that the applicant's cell measured four square metres. It had no windows. A bunk bed, 220 cm long and 65 cm wide, occupied the space along one wall. 35.  The Government submitted a report on a conversation with the head cook of the airport canteen. The cook had stated orally – but refused to confirm the same in writing – that from 23 February to 26 March 2007 three meals a day had been sent to the applicant. 36.  The applicant acknowledged that the cell measured approximately four square metres. However, it was not a normal room but rather a metal cage, its front panel being made of iron rods. The cell had been locked at all times. The only piece of furniture had been a metal bench fixed to the wall. There had been no chair, table, mattress or bedding. During the night she had not been able to undress because she had been in full view of male police officers. She had covered herself with a jacket. 37.  On occasion the applicant had had to share the cell with other detainees, such as petty offenders or vagrants. Female detainees had been placed together with her. If a male detainee had been brought in, the police had taken her out of the cell – sometimes during her sleep – and made her sit on a chair in the nearby office. She had remained seated there for several hours. 38.  The police officers had not brought her any food or drink. All the food had been provided by her boyfriend and sister. The applicant submitted written depositions from them attesting to this fact. She pointed out that no money had been allocated for purchasing food from the canteen. 39.  The applicant had never been taken outside for a walk. The only time she had been outdoors was on 21 February 2007 when she had been taken to the prosecutor's office.