Communicated on 11 February 2021 Published on 1 March 2021

FIFTH SECTION

Application no. 65513/14 Rostyslav Volodymyrovych KLOKOV against Ukraine lodged on 26 September 2014

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The applicant was found guilty of aggravated misappropriation of communal property, forgery of official documents and money laundering and was sentenced to eight years ’ imprisonment and confiscation of all his personal property.

This application mainly concerns the alleged breach of his right under Article 6 § 3 (b) of the Convention to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence in those criminal proceedings on the following two occasions:

- after the completion of the pre-trial investigation and before the trial: the trial court found that the applicant and his lawyer, who had spent six days studying about 3,750 pages of the case file, were deliberately protracting that process; it therefore limited their time for studying the remainder of the file: three days for over 3,400 pages; and

- after the appellate examination of the case and prior to its examination on points of law: the applicant and his lawyer were allegedly obliged to study the case file in a poorly lit room without any table; it was located in a basement, measured less than 9 sq. m. and was occupied by five to twelve persons at all times.

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

Was the applicant afforded adequate time and facilities to prepare his defence, as required by Article 6 § 3 (b) of the Convention?