CASE OF LOSEVSKIY AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA
Violation of Article 5 - Right to liberty and security (Article 5-3 - Length of pre-trial detention)
Dmitry Dedov;Erik Møse;Khanlar Hajiyev
4. The applicants were born in 1978, 1979 and 1970 respectively and lived in Chelyabinsk prior to their arrest. 5. On 27 April 2005 the Krasnoflotskiy District Court of Khabarovsk remanded the applicants in custody. The applicants were charged with forgery and legalisation of money committed by an organised group. On 14 March 2007 the Industrialniy District Court convicted the applicants at first instance. 6. The applicants’ detention on remand was not based on relevant and sufficient reasons. The gravity of the charges was cited as the main reason for detention in orders of 27 April 2005, 3 June 2005, 16 July 2005, 19 July 2005, 25 July 2005, 9 September 2005, 12 September 2005, 13 September 2005, 1 December 2005, 30 December 2005, 15 February 2006, 26 June 2006, 25 September 2006, 26 October 2006, 25 December 2006 and 8 February 2007. The same detention orders did not mention specific and relevant facts capable of corroborating the existence of security risks. The domestic courts did not consider the possibility of applying alternative measures of restraint or did not consider them seriously. Extensions were approved without verifying compliance with the special diligence requirement: it was not stated what had been done in the period elapsed since the last extension and what had to be done during the period for which the extension would be granted (see the orders of 27 April 2005, 1 December 2005, 26 June 2006, 25 September 2006, 26 October 2006, 25 December 2006 and 8 February 2007). The detention orders of 1 December 2005, 30 December 2005, 15 February 2006, 26 June 2006, 25 September 2006, 26 October 2006, 25 December 2006 and 8 February 2007 employed repetitive standard formulae, notwithstanding changes in the applicants’ situation or developments in the proceedings. The trial court also issued collective detention orders in respect of the co-defendants that did not contain an analysis of their individual situations (see the orders of 15 February 2006, 26 June 2006, 25 September 2006, 26 October 2006, 25 December 2006 and 8 February 2007).