Communicated on 7 June 2017

SECOND SECTION

Application no. 53660/15 Nelli MOLDOVEANU against the Republic of Moldova lodged on 21 October 2015

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The application concerns the applicant ’ s detention on remand for a period of forty days, in criminal proceedings in which she was accused of fraud. The proceedings were initiated as a result of a criminal complaint lodged by the applicant ’ s creditor after the applicant had failed to return him a debt of some 25,000 euros. The applicant pleaded, and the creditor did not contest, that the money in question represented a loan. She also presented copies of several handwritten receipts and explained that she could not return the loan due to serious financial difficulties. Nevertheless, the prosecutor ’ s request to detain the applicant on remand was accepted by the domestic courts. The applicant complains under Article 5 § 1 of the Convention that her detention was not based on a reasonable suspicion that she had committed an offence and that it was not based on relevant sufficient reasons. The applicant also complains under Article 1 of Protocol No. 4 to the Convention that she had been deprived of her liberty merely on the ground of inability to fulfil a contractual obligation.

QUESTIONS tO THE PARTIES

1. Was the applicant deprived of her liberty in breach of Article 5 of the Convention? In particular, was the decision to detain the applicant based on a reasonable suspicion that she had committed an offence (see Muşuc v. Moldova , no. 42440/06, §§ 29-34, 6 November 2007) and was it based on relevant and suficient reasons (see Buzadji v. the Republic of Moldova [GC], no. 23755/07 , ECHR 2016 (extracts) ?

2. Was the applicant deprived of her liberty merely on the ground of her inability to fulfil a contractual obligation, contrary to Article 1 of Protocol No. 4 to the Convention?