5.  Between 1993 and 1999 the applicant, P., Lu., and La. served their prison sentences in Volnyansk Prison. After their release all four of them moved to Kyiv, where the applicant kept in touch with La., who gave him a key to his apartment. La. kept in touch with Lu. and P. 6.  On 22 August 2000 the applicant attacked Mr and Mrs I. in the hallway of their apartment block. He attempted to rob them, threatening them with a TT pistol and firing into the ceiling, but the victims resisted and the applicant ran away. On the same day the police arrived at the crime scene and found the bullet which the applicant had fired. In December 2000 the applicant travelled to Portugal; he returned to Ukraine in May 2001. 7.  At the beginning of June 2001 the police detained La. within the framework of an investigation into a number of crimes and seized a TT pistol from his apartment. A forensic examination established that the bullet found at the crime scene on 22 August 2000 had been fired from the same gun. La. told the police that the gun belonged to him, he had received it from Lu. and had kept it, unloaded, at his apartment. 8.  On 9 June 2001 P. told the police that La. had given him a TT pistol and said that the applicant had used it when he had tried to commit a robbery. P. also told the police that he and La. had committed a number of crimes using the same gun. 9.  On 15 June 2001 the police detained the applicant and brought him to a police station. According to the applicant, the police officers handcuffed him, laid him on the ground and kicked him, forcing him to say that La. had been his accomplice in the attack on Mr and Mrs I. The applicant did not provide any statements to the police on that date. 10.  In his application form the applicant stated, without developing further, that after his arrest he had been denied access to a lawyer. 11.  On 16 June 2001 the applicant was informed of his right to legal counsel and his right to remain silent, but he waived those rights in writing. Before the Court the applicant stated that the police had apprehended his girlfriend, Y., and had threatened to keep her in detention until he admitted that La. had helped him to prepare the attack on Mr and Mrs I. The case file contains no documentary proof that Y. was indeed apprehended by the police. 12.  On the same day the applicant told the police that in August 2000, when he had been living with Y. in her apartment, La. had suggested to him that he rob Mr and Mrs I. On 22 August 2000 La. had given him the TT pistol, had driven him to the apartment block where the couple lived, and had waited nearby while the applicant had tried to rob them. After the applicant had run away from the crime scene, La. had driven him home. About ten days later, La. had taken the gun away from the applicant. 13.  The police charged the applicant with having attacked Mr and Mrs I. 14.  During an identity parade and confrontation held on the same date Mr and Mrs I. said that it was the applicant who had attacked them. The applicant did not deny that he had done so. 15.  On 18 June 2001 the applicant was once again informed of his right to legal counsel and his right to remain silent; again he waived those rights in writing. On the same date he was questioned and repeated the statements he had made on 16 June 2001. 16.  On 19 June 2001 La. told the police that he had not been involved in the attack on Mr and Mrs I. 17.  On an unspecified date a court ordered the applicant’s pre-trial detention. He remained in pre-trial detention until his conviction. 18.  In July 2001 the applicant had a meeting with lawyer L. hired by his girlfriend. 19.  On 7 September 2001 the applicant once again waived in writing his right to legal counsel; also on the same date he was confronted with La. The investigator M. kept minutes of the confrontation, but later those minutes disappeared from the applicant’s case file (see paragraph 25 below). Copies of the minutes were not made available to the Court. 20.  Also on 7 September 2001 the applicant was confronted with Lu. The latter denied that he had been involved in the attack, while the applicant stated that he had committed the attack alone, unassisted by other persons. Minutes of this confrontation were made available to the Court. 21.  On 10 September 2001 the applicant made a written statement in which he refused to participate in further confrontations with Lu. and La. According to investigator M.’s testimony, subsequently relied upon by the trial court (see paragraph 37 below), the applicant motivated this statement by fear of reprisals from Lu. 22.  On 9 October 2001 the applicant asked the investigator M. for a lawyer, Mr L., to be assigned to defend him. Despite that request, on 9 October 2001 the applicant was questioned without a lawyer and made an oral statement saying that he had committed the attack with the help of Lu. and La. but those two persons had threatened him and for that reason during the confrontations with them he had said that he had committed the attack alone. The applicant noted that he planned to deny the involvement of Lu. and La. during the ensuing criminal proceedings. Investigator M. noted the applicant’s oral statement in the minutes of the questioning and the applicant signed the minutes. 23.  During the pre-trial investigation Y. was questioned and stated that, from February to December 2000, she had lived together with the applicant in her apartment in Kyiv. 24.  On 26 November 2001 charges against the applicant were modified and he was charged with having attacked Mr and Mrs I. in conspiracy with Lu. and La. 25.  On 29 November 2001 the pre-trial investigation was completed. The applicant studied the material in the case file and found out that the minutes of his confrontation with La. (see paragraph 19 above) had disappeared from it. According to the authorities, the minutes, along with some other materials, disappeared during the period when the defendants were studying the case file. 26.  The case was submitted to the Kyiv Court of Appeal (“Court of Appeal”) for trial. 27.  In July 2002 the applicant complained to the Court of Appeal that on 15 and 16 June 2001 the police had tortured him with the aim of extracting statements incriminating La. 28.  On 9 December 2002 the Court of Appeal held a preliminary hearing in the case in the presence of the applicant and his co-accused Lu., La., and P. On the same day the Court of Appeal remitted the case to the prosecutors for further investigation. 29.  On 24 April 2003 the Supreme Court partly modified the decision of 9 December 2002, but upheld it in the part stating that further investigation in the case must be carried out. 30.  On 19 June 2003 the Obolonskyy District Prosecutor’s Office received the criminal case and started further investigation. 31.  On 4 August 2003 the applicant asked a prosecutor for a lawyer, Mr K., to be assigned to defend him. On the same date that request was granted. 32.  On 14 August 2003 the applicant was questioned in the presence of lawyer K. and stated that he had actually committed the attack alone and had not had any accomplices. He stated that initially he had said that La. had assisted him because the police had forced him to do so by using physical force. 33.  In 2004 the applicant asked the investigative authorities to carry out his confrontation with Lu. and La. In July 2004 an investigator rejected that request on the ground that it was useless to conduct such a confrontation after the applicant, Lu. and La. had been able to communicate during the preliminary court hearing (see paragraph 28 above). 34.  On an unspecified date the pre-trial investigation was completed and the case was submitted to the Court of Appeal for trial. 35.  When questioned in court, the applicant stated that in August 2000 he had been living in La.’s apartment and had found a loaded TT pistol there. He had taken it without the knowledge or consent of La. and had attacked Mr and Mrs I. After the attack he had returned the gun to the apartment. During the pre-trial investigation the police officers had forced him, through physical and psychological pressure, to state that La. had helped him to prepare the attack. In particular, they had threatened to keep his girlfriend Y. in detention if he refused to give statements against La. 36.  La. and Lu. were questioned at a court hearing and stated that they had not been involved in the attack. 37.  Investigator M., who had conducted the preliminary investigation into the applicant’s case, told the court that, initially, the applicant had stated that La. had helped him to prepare the attack. On 7 September 2001, during his confrontation with La., the applicant started denying La.’s involvement and said that it had actually been Lu. who had helped him. After the confrontations with Lu. and La. the applicant had told M. that those two persons had threatened him and for that reason during the confrontations he had lied and said that he had committed the attack alone. In fact, he had committed it with the help of Lu. and La. 38.  On 3 December 2004 the Court of Appeal, referring, inter alia, to the submissions of the investigator M. (see paragraph 37 above) and P. (see paragraph 8 above), convicted the applicant and sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment and confiscation of all his property for having attacked Mr and Mrs I. with the help of Lu. and La. In particular, the court found that after the applicant had failed to repay his debt to Lu., Lu. and another individual brought the applicant to a forest, threatened him and suggested he repay the debt by robbing Mr and Mrs I.
By the same judgment the court convicted P., Lu. and La. of having committed a series of armed attacks and planned attacks using the TT pistol which the applicant had used to attack spouses I. P. was also convicted of murder of a person who promised to report him to the authorities and the attempted murder of police officers in order to evade arrest. The court referred to evidence that the applicant had hidden P. after the attack on the police officers.
Noting that the applicant, La. and P. recanted their initial confessions in the course of the subsequent investigation and trial, the court stated that it found their initial confessions more trustworthy since they were more coherent with other evidence in the file than their subsequent, modified, accounts of the events. 39.  In reaching the conclusion that Lu. and La. had helped the applicant to prepare the attack the court referred to the fact that Lu., La., and the applicant knew each other because they had served their prison sentences together and maintained contacts after release. It also referred to the fact that the bullet found on the crime scene was shot from the TT pistol which belonged to La. and had been found in his apartment. The court noted that the fact that La. had assisted the applicant in the attack was confirmed by the statements that the applicant had given during the pre-trial investigation. In this context, the court specifically cited the applicant’s initial statements of 16 and 18 June 2001. 40.  The court found that the applicant’s submissions regarding the pressure exerted on him by the police were unsubstantiated. The applicant’s statement that in August 2000 he had been living in La.’s apartment and had found a loaded gun there was false because it was contradicted by the statements of Y. and La. In particular, Y. stated that from February to December 2000 the applicant had lived with her in her apartment, and La. stated that he had kept the TT pistol unloaded (see paragraphs 7 and 23 above). 41.  The applicant appealed to the Supreme Court. He argued that the police, by means of physical and psychological pressure, had forced him into stating that Lu. and La. had assisted him in the commission of the crime. In particular, the investigators had threatened to detain his girlfriend, Y., if he refused to give statements incriminating Lu. and La. In fact, those individuals had not been involved in the attack. The applicant also mentioned that on 9 October 2001 he had been questioned without a lawyer despite his request for a lawyer lodged on the same date. 42.  On 24 May 2005 the Supreme Court held a hearing in the presence of the applicant and orally pronounced its decision upholding the first-instance court judgment. It noted that the applicant’s allegations of physical and psychological pressure were unsubstantiated. The court also noted that although the minutes of the applicant’s confrontation with La. were not available, the case file contained sufficient evidence of the applicant’s guilt. 43.  On 12 August 2005 the applicant was served with a copy of the Supreme Court’s decision. 44.  On 31 October 2005 the applicant lodged his first letter with the Court. On 19 December 2005 he lodged his application form. 45.  On 29 March 2006 the Court asked the applicant to indicate on which date he first received legal assistance. The Court also asked the applicant to provide copies of any requests for legal assistance which he had lodged with the authorities. 46.  In his reply of 2 May 2006, the applicant indicated that the lawyer Mr L., had first visited him in July 2001 and his request for a lawyer of 9 October 2001 had not been granted. He also stated that before 9 October 2001 he had orally requested the authorities to assign him a lawyer, but he could not provide any proof that he had lodged such requests. 47.  On 14 May 2006 the applicant asked the Court of Appeal to give him a copy of his request for a lawyer of 9 October 2001. 48.  On 24 May 2006 the Court of Appeal refused the request, stating that the law did not empower it to provide him with such a copy. 49.  On 21 May 2007 the applicant was released on parole. The applicant did not inform the Court whether, after release, he had made any further attempts to obtain a copy of his request of 9 October 2001. 50.  In August 2001 the applicant was placed in SIZO no. 13 in Kyiv. In February 2003 he underwent a lung X-ray which revealed that he was suffering from tuberculosis (TB). According to the certificate issued by the State Penitentiary Service in 2011 and submitted to the Court by the Government, he was diagnosed with 5.1 TB (see paragraph 54 below). From February 2003 to May 2005 the applicant received a special diet in connection with his TB. The applicant stated that, during the same period, he had not been accorded medications to treat his TB. The Government stated (referring to a certificate issued by the State Penitentiary Service in 2011) that, from February 2003 to June 2005, the applicant had received anti-relapse medication. The Government were unable to specify the name of this medication because the applicant’s medical file had been damaged by flooding in the SIZO in 2006-2007 and destroyed in 2008. In May 2005 the applicant started coughing up blood. An X-ray examination and an examination by a TB specialist revealed that the applicant’s TB reactivated. In June 2005 the applicant was moved to the SIZO medical unit and started receiving antibiotics as a person suffering from category 1 TB. On 29 August 2005 the applicant was moved to Prison no. 17 for inmates suffering from TB, where he received treatment. On the date of the applicant’s release he still suffered from TB. 51.  According to the applicant, he developed TB in the SIZO in 2003 because in that facility he was not able to “breathe fresh air” and the food which he received was “not sufficiently rich in calories”. He did not provide any further details concerning his detention conditions and did not submit any evidence in this respect. 52.  The Government provided certificates issued by the State Penitentiary Service stating that the cells in which the applicant had been held in the SIZO had been well ventilated and that the food provided to him had been adequate and in compliance with national legislation.