Communicated on 19 February 2021 Published on 8 March 2021

SECOND SECTION

Application no. 75801/17 Andrei BAHCIVANJI against the Republic of Moldova lodged on 17 October 2017

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The application concerns the applicant ’ s detention on remand for more than ten months on charges of fraud. The applications for the applicant ’ s remand in custody and for its prolongation addressed by prosecutors to the competent courts and the courts ’ decisions failed to cite any relevant piece of evidence to support the allegation that he had committed the offence imputed to him. When referring to the reasons for detention, the courts merely cited the reasons provided for in the relevant article of the Code of Criminal Procedure without explaining how they were applicable in the applicant ’ s case.

The applicant complains under Article 5 § 1 of the Convention that his remand in custody was not based on a reasonable suspicion that he had committed an offence and under Article 5 § 3 that the courts did not rely on relevant and sufficient reasons to order and prolong his detention pending trial.

QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES

1. Was the applicant deprived of his liberty in breach of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention? In particular, was the applicant ’ s detention on remand based on a reasonable suspicion that he had committed the criminal offence imputed to him (see Muşuc v. Moldova , no. 42440/06, §§ 29-34, 6 November 2007)?

2. Was the applicant ’ s detention on remand based on relevant and sufficient reasons as required under Article 5 § 3 of the Convention ( Buzadji v. the Republic of Moldova [GC], no. 23755/07, §§ 115-123, 5 July 2016)?

The Government are requested to submit a full copy of the case-file in the domestic proceedings.