5.  The applicant was born in 1979 and is currently being held in Šķirotava Prison in Rīga. 6.  On 13 November 2000 the applicant was arrested and detained. His detention was subsequently extended by different judges. 7.  On 9 June 2003 the Kurzeme Regional Court (Kurzemes apgabaltiesa) convicted the applicant of aggravated murder and sentenced him to thirteen years’ imprisonment. 8.  On 3 November 2003 the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court (Augstākās Tiesas Krimināllietu tiesu palāta) upheld the judgment of the first-instance court upon the applicant’s appeal. 9.  On 13 January 2004 the Criminal Department of the Senate of the Supreme Court (Augstākās Tiesas Senāta Krimināllietu departaments) dismissed the applicant’s appeal on points of law. 10.  The applicant was held at the short-term detention facility in Saldus, which was located in a police station, for the following eight periods:
 5 June to 5 July 2002;
 5 September to 22 November 2002;
 13 to 22 December 2002;
 5 to 13 January 2003;
 22 to 29 January 2003;
 5 to 13 March 2003;
 22 March to 13 April 2003; and
 13 to 23 May 2003.
According to the applicant, the conditions therein had not been appropriate for prolonged periods of detention – they had been unsanitary and had not met basic hygiene standards. He had lacked a mattress and had been required to sleep on a hard surface. He had not received a sufficient amount of food. Moreover, no toothpaste had been provided to him. 11.  Before and after his detention in the short-term detention facility in Saldus, the applicant was held in Liepāja Prison, save for a period between 13 and 22 February 2003, when he underwent treatment in the Prison Hospital located in the grounds of Central Prison in Rīga. 12.  On 23 May 2003, upon the applicant’s complaint to the Ministry of the Interior, the State Police replied that “indeed we have to agree that the conditions in the short-term detention facility need to be improved”. It was noted that the facility had been opened in 1964 and that “it is currently necessary to reconstruct certain parts of it and to improve it”. They asserted that work had already been started and that sanitary conditions would soon improve. 13.  The applicant’s cellmates in Liepāja Prison have written to the Court, stating that following the applicant’s return from the short-term detention facility in Saldus his back and one side had had blue marks on them, which he explained had been caused by his sleeping on a hard surface; fleas and lice had been found on him; and he had told them that the overall sanitary conditions had been terrible. 14.  The Government provided no comments in this regard. 15.  Following its second visit to Latvia from 25 September to 4 October 2002, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (“the CPT”) published a report on 10 May 2005, in which it was stated that:
“21. In paragraph 23 of the report on the 1999 visit, the CPT made a number of specific recommendations with a view to improving the extremely poor material conditions of detention in Latvian police establishments. However, the Committee noted with great concern that the facts found during the 2002 visit clearly show that the situation has not improved.
Conditions of detention were particularly bad at Daugavpils, Liepāja and Ventspils Police Headquarters, where persons were being held 24 hours per day in overcrowded cells, which were very humid, dirty and poorly ventilated. Hardly any of the cells had access to natural light, and artificial lighting was extremely poor. In all three establishments visited, detainees were obliged to sleep on a wooden platform without mattresses and blankets. They were not given the possibility to wash themselves, had access to toilets only once or twice per day, and for the rest of the time were obliged to use a bucket in their cells to satisfy the needs of nature. No personal hygiene products (e.g. toilet paper) were provided... 22. The CPT’s delegation made an immediate observation in respect of the conditions of detention in these establishments. In their letter of 29 January 2003, the Latvian authorities informed the Committee that ... “[T]he issue about ensuring that the detention centres are provided with mattresses and blankets is currently being resolved”. Further, the Committee would like to receive the Latvian authorities’ confirmation that all persons detained at Daugavpils, Liepāja and Ventspils Police Headquarters (as well as in other police establishments) are now provided with a clean mattress/blankets at night as well as with personal hygiene products and are given the possibility to wash themselves and to have ready access to toilets.”