A lawyer’s placement in pre-trial detention, his conditions of detention and the circumstances of his trial entailed several violations of the Convention (ECHR)
In the case
of Kolomenskiy v. Russia (application no. 27297/07) the European Court of Human
Rights held, unanimously, (Judgement of 13.12.2016) that there had been: A violation
of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment) of the European Convention
on Human Rights; a violation of Article 13 (right to an effective remedy),
taken together with Article 3 of the Convention; a violation of Article 5 § 1
(right to liberty and security); a violation of Article 5 § 3
(suspect’s right
to be brought to trial within a reasonable time or released pending trial); a
violation of Article 5 § 4 (right to a speedy review of the lawfulness of
detention); a violation of Article 6 § 2 (presumption of innocence).
The case
concerned the placement in pre-trial detention and the conditions of detention
of a lawyer who had been appointed as the administrator of a company in
judicial reorganisation proceedings.
The Court,
assessing all the circumstances of the case, held that Mr Kolomenskiy had been
detained in conditions which did not correspond to the standards required by
Article 3 of the Convention. In addition, his placement in pre-trial detention
had not been lawful, as the authorities had detained him for more than nine
months on grounds that could not be considered sufficient.
The Court also held
that Mr Kolomenskiy’s appeals against the decisions extending his detention,
worded in a stereotyped manner and devoid of any analysis of the applicant’s
personal situation, had not been examined rapidly and had ultimately been
examined in his absence. Finally, the principle of the presumption of innocence
had been breached. (hudoc.echr.coe.int) Read
the decision (in French) here
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