5.  The applicant was born in 1970 and lives in Chisinau. 6.  At the time of the events in question, the applicant was a high-ranking police officer. On 26 March 2008 he was arrested on suspicion of being part of a criminal gang specialised in the smuggling of heroin through Moldova to the European Union. His arrest took place as a result of the seizure of a large quantity of heroin in Chişinău. He was indicted with the offence of circulating large quantities of narcotics, an offence provided for in Article 217/1 of the Criminal Code and punishable with seven to twenty years of imprisonment. 7.  On 5 September 2008 the criminal investigation into the circumstances of the case was completed and the case was referred to a trial court for determination. 8.  On 21 October 2009 the applicant was found guilty of having committed other offences than that for which he had been put in detention on remand and sentenced to five years and nine months’ imprisonment. The offences of which the applicant was found guilty concerned negligence, abuse of power and aiding and abetting in the commission of an offence. On 21 June 2010 the judgment was set aside by the Chisinau Court of Appeal and the applicant was released from detention. The proceedings are still pending. 9.  Between his arrest and his sentencing the applicant was detained on remand. A detention warrant was issued every month and the reasons given for prolonging his detention were the same throughout the entire period: the applicant had been accused of a serious criminal offence punishable by more than two years’ imprisonment and there was a risk he might abscond or hinder the investigation. All of the applicant’s habeas corpus requests were dismissed. 10.  The applicant was detained in two detention facilities. Between his arrest and 17 November 2008 he was detained in solitary confinement at the detention facility of the Centre for Fighting Economic Crime and Corruption (CFECC) and between 17 November 2008 and 21 June 2010 he was held in Prison no. 13. According to the applicant, the conditions of detention in Prison no. 13 were tantamount to inhuman and degrading treatment. In particular, the cells were dirty and overcrowded. In the cell in which the applicant was detained, each inmate had only 2.5 square metres of available space. The food was of a very poor quality, the inmates smoked, and he was held along with detainees convicted of violent crimes who threatened him with violence on account of his status as a police officer. The inmates were not provided with bed linen and the cell was infected with vermin. 11.  During his detention the applicant’s state of health deteriorated and a panel of doctors diagnosed him with gastritis, duodenitis, pancreatitis, hepatitis and hypertension. They recommended he be hospitalised for in-patient treatment. The applicant was hospitalised between 7 October and 17 November 2008 in a prison hospital belonging to the Ministry of Justice but he refused treatment, asking instead to be treated in a military hospital accredited by the Ministry of Healthcare. His request was rejected on grounds which were not communicated to the Court by the parties.