CASE OF KARACHENTSEV v. RUSSIA
Violation of Article 3 - Prohibition of torture (Article 3 - Degrading treatment) (Substantive aspect);No violation of Article 5 - Right to liberty and security (Article 5-4 - Review of lawfulness of detention)
Alena Poláčková;Branko Lubarda;Dmitry Dedov;Helen Keller;Helena Jäderblom;Pere Pastor Vilanova
5. The applicant was born in 1972 and lives in St Petersburg. 6. On 4 June 2010 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of robbery committed in an organised group. 7. On 5 June 2010 the Vyborgskiy District Court of St Petersburg (“the District Court”) remanded the applicant in custody. The District Court relied on the particularly serious nature of the crime with which the applicant had been charged and his position on the merits of the arrest and the charges brought against him. The court also relied on the risk that he might flee from the investigating authorities and the court, exert pressure on victims, witnesses and other participants in the criminal proceedings, or otherwise hamper the administration of justice in the case. 8. On 4 August 2010 the District Court extended the applicant’s detention until 24 August 2010. 9. On 20 August and 23 August 2010, at the request of the applicant’s lawyer, the District Court adjourned the review of the applicant’s detention until 23 August and 24 August 2010, respectively. 10. On 24 August 2010 the applicant retained another lawyer to defend him. The newly appointed lawyer joined the proceedings at 4 p.m. on the same day. 11. On 24 August 2010 the applicant’s lawyer asked the District Court to adjourn the hearing until 25 August 2010 so as to enable her to review the prosecution material and discuss her position with the applicant. The judge refused to adjourn the hearing until 25 August 2010, but granted a two-hour adjournment until 6 p.m. 12. On 24 August 2010 the District Court extended the applicant’s detention until 24 November 2010, having found no grounds for altering or lifting the custodial measure and having taken note of the particular complexity of the case. The applicant’s argument to the effect that no investigative measures were being carried out with his participation was rejected with reference to the investigator’s discretion to lead the investigation. 13. The applicant appealed against the above decision, claiming, inter alia, that the two-hour adjournment of the hearing on 24 August 2010 had not permitted him to consult his lawyer in private; nor had it allowed his lawyer to have sufficient time to review the prosecution material. 14. On 11 October 2010 the St Petersburg City Court (“the City Court”) found that there were no reasons to vary the preventive measure, and it upheld the decision of 24 August 2010 on appeal. The City Court held that the two-hour adjournment granted by the District Court had been sufficient for studying the prosecution file consisting of 153 pages. Most of the file consisted of procedural documents concerning issues relating to the institution of the criminal proceedings, the extension of the time-limit for the investigation, the joinder of criminal cases, and documents which had been previously handed to the applicant. Besides, all these documents had been examined in the hearing on 24 August 2010. As regards the applicant’s complaint as to his inability to have a confidential exchange with his lawyer before the hearing of 24 August 2010, the City Court held that the applicant and his lawyer had been given the opportunity to communicate in the courtroom. However, they had refused to communicate in such conditions. This did not amount to a breach of the applicant’s right to defence, because the applicant’s lawyer could have had a confidential meeting with the applicant in the remand prison without any restrictions, and they could have developed their defence position beforehand. In any event, the hearing could not have been adjourned until 25 August 2010, since the time-limit for the applicant’s detention had been due to expire on 24 August 2010, and therefore the decision on the preventive measure had had to be taken before then. Both the applicant and his lawyer participated in the appeal hearing. 15. On the same date, 11 October 2010, charges in respect of two counts of large-scale robbery committed in an organised group under Article 161 § 3 (a) and (b) of the Russian Criminal Code were brought against the applicant. 16. On 15 October 2010 the applicant and his lawyer were informed that the pre-trial investigation had been terminated, and on 16 November 2010 they were given access to the case file. 17. On an unspecified date in November 2010 the District Court extended the applicant’s detention until 24 February 2011. 18. On 21 February 2011 the applicant’s lawyer was informed that a review of the preventive measure was to take place on the following day. 19. On 22 February 2011 the applicant’s lawyer did not appear for the hearing. The applicant asked the court to adjourn the hearing owing to the lawyer’s illness. However, the adjournment was refused. Legal aid counsel was appointed for the applicant. 20. On 22 February 2011, reiterating the reasons which had prompted the application of the custodial measure in the applicant’s case, the District Court extended the applicant’s detention until 24 May 2011 pending examination of the case file. 21. The applicant appealed, complaining, inter alia, about the refusal to adjourn the hearing so as to enable his lawyer to defend him. 22. On 6 April 2011 the City Court found that there were no reasons to vary the preventive measure, and it upheld the decision of 22 February 2011 on appeal. As regards the applicant’s complaint regarding the alleged violation of his right to defence by the refusal to adjourn the hearing of 22 February 2011, the City Court held that the applicant’s lawyer had failed to prove her sickness by providing a medical certificate. This made the examination of the issue of the applicant’s detention in her absence lawful under domestic law, as legal aid counsel had been appointed for the applicant. Both the applicant and his lawyer participated in the appeal hearing, the applicant by means of a video link from the remand prison. 23. On 30 May 2011 the District Court further extended the applicant’s detention until 24 August 2011 pending examination of the case file. The court noted that the grounds which had prompted the application of the custodial measure in the applicant’s case had not changed, and referred to the considerable size of the case file, a case file which neither the applicant, nor his co-defendants or their lawyers had been able to examine in full. 24. On 28 June 2011 the City Court upheld the above decision on appeal. 25. On 11 January 2013 the City Court acquitted the applicant of all charges in a jury trial. The judgment became final on 23 July 2013. 26. Between 5 June 2010 and 29 July 2011 the applicant was held in remand prison IZ-47/4 in St Petersburg. The prison was overcrowded. Thus, cell 76, measuring 18 sq. m, was equipped with eight sleeping places and accommodated up to ten inmates, and cell 145, measuring 18 sq. m, was designed for eight people and housed up to ten individuals. Cell 164, measuring 15 sq. m, offered six places, and up to six detainees occupied those places. 27. As mentioned above, on 6 April and 28 June 2011 respectively the City Court examined the applicant’s appeals against the decisions of the District Court of 22 February and 30 May 2011 extending his detention. He participated in the appeals by means of a video link from the remand prison, where he was confined in a metal cage.