Communicated on 14 December 2018

THIRD SECTION

Application no. 12409/15 Oleg Vasilyevich LITVINTSEV against Russia lodged on 2 March 2015

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant, Mr Oleg Vasilyevich Litvintsev , is a Russian national, who was born in 1968 and is serving a prison sentence in Kryuki , Pskov Region. He is represented before the Court by Ms K. Moskalenko and Ms V. Bokareva , lawyers admitted to practice in Moscow.

The circumstances of the case

The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows.

On 9 June 2014 the Solnechnogorsk Town Court of the Moscow Region found the applicant guilty of fraud and sentenced him to seven years ’ imprisonment. The applicant appealed. The prosecutor appealed challenging the leniency of the sentence imposed. The applicant did not receive a copy of the prosecutor ’ s statement of appeal.

On 2 September 2014 the Moscow Regional Court upheld, in substance, the applicant ’ s conviction on appeal increasing his prison sentence to 8.5 years.

Neither the applicant nor his lawyers were notified of the appeal hearing. On the day of the hearing, without giving any notice or information to the applicant, the guards took him out of his cell to another room in the remand prison from which he participated in the appeal hearing by means of a video link. A state-appointed lawyer was present in the courtroom and made submissions to the court on the applicant ’ s behalf. The quality of the video link was poor and the applicant could hardly follow the proceedings. His request to dismiss the state-appointed lawyer and to summon the lawyers he had earlier retained was to no avail.

COMPLAINTS

The applicant complains under Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (b) and (c) of the Convention that he was unable to participate effectively in the appeal hearing of 2 September 2014.

QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES

1. Was the applicant able to participate effectively in the appeal hearing of 2 September 2014 before the Moscow Regional Court, as required by Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (b) and (c) of the Convention? In particular,

(a) When was the applicant notified of the date and time of the appeal hearing and was he afforded adequate time to prepare his defence? Was he provided with a copy of the prosecutor ’ s statement of appeal?

(b) Were the lawyers retained by the applicant notified of the appeal hearing and what were the reasons for their non-attendance?

(c) When was counsel Z. appointed to represent the applicant? Did she have an opportunity to prepare for the appeal hearing? Did she have access to the case-file and how much time was she afforded to study it? Did she meet with the applicant pending the appeal hearing and how did she communicate with the applicant during the appeal hearing?

(d) What were the reasons for the conduct of the appeal hearing by a video link? Was the applicant able to follow the proceedings via the video link?

2. The Government are requested to provide a record of the appeal hearing of 2 September 2014 before the Moscow Regional Court ( протокол заседания ) .