Communicated on 12 December 2013

FIRST SECTION

Application no. 43183/06 Vasiliy Konstantinovich GORBUNOV against Russia lodged on 5 February 2007

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant, Mr Vasiliy Konstantinovich Gorbunov , is a Russian national who was born in 1971 and is serving a prison sentence in Vozhskiy , Komi Republic .

The circumstances of the case

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

On 24 October 2005 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

On 24 July 2006 the Vologda Town Court found the applicant guilty as charged and sentenced him to nine years ’ imprisonment. The applicant, but not his state-appointed lawyer, appealed.

On 7 December 2006 the Vologda Regional Court upheld the applicant ’ s conviction on appeal. According to the applicant, he participated in the hearing by means of a video conference. He was not provided with legal assistance and had to plead the case on his own. It appears that at some point the applicant was removed from the room and the court proceeded to hear the case in his absence.

COMPLAINT

The applicant complains under Article 6 § 3 (c) of the Convention that he was not provided with legal assistance in the appeal proceedings and that the appeal court ordered his removal from the hearing and proceeded in his absence.

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

As regards the alleged lack of free legal assistance and the applicant ’ s alleged removal from the appeal hearing before the Vologda Regional Court held on 7 December 2006, were the criminal proceedings in the applicant ’ s case compliant with the standards set out Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (c) of the Convention ?