4.  The applicant was born in 1982 and lives in Kurakhove, Donetsk region, Ukraine. He is currently serving his sentence apparently in the Donetsk Pre-Trial Detention Centre, Ukraine. 5.  On 16 July 2003 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder, robbery and arson. 6.  On 19 July 2003 the Maryinka District Court remanded him in custody, relying on the suspicion that he had committed the offences in question. It also considered that keeping the applicant in detention was necessary to secure the proper conduct of the proceedings, given the risk that he might go into hiding and obstruct the investigation, without, however, specifying the grounds for such an opinion. The court also stressed the severity of crimes allegedly committed by the applicant. 7.  In the course of the investigation, the Maryinka District Court prolonged the applicant's detention on 15 September and 15 October 2003. In these decisions the court repeatedly relied on the original grounds given for the applicant's detention.
8  The applicant's appeal against the detention order was dismissed as lodged out of time. His further numerous applications for release were unsuccessful. 9.  Later, certain S. and G. were detained and charged in connection with the investigation against the applicant. Subsequently their cases were joined to the applicant's one. 10.  On 17 November 2003 the Regional Prosecutor lodged a bill of indictment with the Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal. The applicant was charged with an aggravated murder, robbery and arson. 12.  On 9 December 2004, after several hearings, the court remitted the case for additional investigation. 13.  By 1 March 2005 the additional investigation was completed and the case was sent to the Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal. On 21 March 2005 the latter again remitted the case for additional investigation which was completed by 30 June 2005. 14.  During the above additional investigations the authorities further prolonged the applicant's pre-trial detention on 30 January and 27 May 2005. No copy of the former decision is available. In the latter decision the Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal repeated the grounds previously given for the applicant's continued detention and additionally relied on the severity of the anticipated sentence. The court also argued that the applicant could induce witnesses to give false testimony. Again, it did not specify the grounds for such an opinion. 15.  On 1 November 2006 the Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal gave judgment. The applicant was convicted as charged and sentenced to fifteen years' imprisonment. The court also convicted S. and G. 17.  On 14 February 2008 the Supreme Court of Ukraine partly quashed the first-instance judgment and remitted the case for retrial. 19.  In the retrial proceedings the applicant made several, unsuccessful applications for release. In his applications he repeatedly contested the factual basis for the charges against him and invoked the principle of the presumption of innocence. The court, dismissing his applications, reasoned that they were either “premature” or “inappropriate” at that stage of proceedings. 20.  On 21 September 2009 the Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal convicted the applicant as originally charged. 21.  The applicant and his lawyer appealed to the Supreme Court of Ukraine but the destiny of their appeals is not known.