Communicated on 8 November 2016

FIFTH SECTION

Application no. 55067/07 Ramin TAGIYEV against Azerbaijan lodged on 6 December 2007

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant, Mr Ramin Tagiyev , is an Azerbaijani national, who was born in 1980 and lives in Baku.

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

The applicant was one of the co-founders and deputy chairman of the Yeni Fikir Youth Movement (“the Movement”), an organisation founded in 2004 and affiliated with the opposition Popular Front Party.

In August 2005 criminal proceedings under Article 278 ( actions aimed at usurping State power ) of the Criminal Code were instituted against the chairman of the Movement.

On 14 September 2005, when the applicant left his home , he was arrested by plain-clothes police officers. He was taken to the Serious Crimes Department of the Prosecutor General ’ s Office where he was charged with the criminal offence of actions aimed at usurping State power under Article 278 of the Criminal Code. T he specific act attributed to him was that he had illegally planned to organise unlawful demonstrations, clashes and violent actions for the purposes of illegal overthrow of the Government .

On 16 September 2005 the Nasimi District Court ordered the applicant ’ s detention pending trial.

According to the applicant, following his arrest, numerous statements were made by a number of officials about his case and special programmes condemning him were broadcasted on television channels.

The applicant ’ s trial was held by the Assize Court in the summer of 2006. According to the applicant, the hearings were “essentially” closed to the public, as his relatives, the journalists and other persons were not allowed to attend the hearings. Moreover, at each hearing the applicant was brought to the courtroom in handcuffs and was confined in a metal cage. During breaks in hearings he was taken to a cell in the court ’ s basement which was unventilated and was generally in very bad conditions.

On 12 July 2006 the Assize Court convicted the applicant under Article 278 of the Criminal Code and sentenced him to four years ’ imprisonment.

On 28 September 2006 the Court of Appeal upheld the applicant ’ s conviction, but reduced his sentence to three years ’ imprisonment, taking into account certain mitigating circumstances.

On 14 August 2007 the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal ’ s judgment of 28 September 2006.

COMPLAINTS

The applicant complains under Article 3 of the Convention that he was brought to the court hearings in handcuffs and was placed in a metal cage in the courtroom. He further complains that his conditions of detention were harsh in a cell situated in the Assize Court ’ s basement where he was detained during breaks in hearings.

The applicant complains under Article 6 of the Convention that his right to a public hearing was breached. In this connection, he argues that the court hearings were held in camera, as his relatives, the journalists and other persons were not allowed to attend the hearings.

He also complains under Article 6 § 2 of the Convention that that the statements made by a number of officials about his case and the television programmes broadcasted before his trial violated his right to the presumption of innocence.

QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES

1. Has the applicant been subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment in breach of Article 3 of the Convention? In particular, was the applicant brought to the court hearings in handcuffs and was placed in a metal cage in the courtroom? Did the conditions of the applicant ’ s detention, in the courtroom during the hearings and in a cell in the basement of the Assize Court during breaks in hearings, amount to inhuman or degrading treatment?

2. Has there been a public hearing in the present case, as required by Article 6 § 1 of the Convention? If not, did the exclusion of the public pursue one of the legitimate aims enumerated in the second sentence of Article 6 § 1 and was it “strictly necessary” within the meaning of this provision?

3. Was the presumption of innocence, guaranteed by Article 6 § 2 of the Convention, respected in the present case? The parties are requested to submit the full text of the relevant statements by officials, as well as the statements made in television and other broadcasts concerning the applicant ’ s case. In respect of the latter, the parties are requested to submit extracts from the video recordings of these broadcasts containing the specific impugned statements, together with written transcripts of the extracts.

4. The parties are requested to submit copies of: (a) all appeals and complaints made by the applicant at any stage of the criminal proceedings – before either the prosecuting authorities or courts – in connection with any of the complaints addressed in the above questions; (b) the applicant ’ s appeal and cassation appeal against his conviction; (c) relevant court decisions and/or relevant extracts from the records of the court hearings concerning the issue of the public nature of the hearings or any other evidence in this respect; and (d) any other procedural decisions or other official documents relevant to the complaints addressed by the above questions.