CEDH · CASELAW;JUDGMENTS;CHAMBER;ENG — 7 mars 2023

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display:inline-block } .s5A65B3DC { width:46.56pt; display:inline-block } .s44B8752F { width:177.11pt; display:inline-block }   SECOND SECTION CASE OF MAMASAKHLISI AND OTHERS v. GEORGIA AND RUSSIA (Application nos. 29999/04 and 41424/04)   JUDGMENT Art 1 • Jurisdiction of Russia and Georgia over Abkhazia • Effective control and decisive influence exercised by Russia over Abkhaz territory in view of political, economic and financial support as well as dissuasive military involvement • Responsibility of Russia for acts of Abkhaz authorities in relation to detained applicants • Positive obligations of Georgia with regard to Abkhazia, a part of its territory over which at the time it had no control • No responsibility on the part of Georgia for acts as positive obligations discharged Art 3 (substantive) • Inhuman or degrading treatment • Ill-treatment during interrogation, inadequate conditions of detention and lack of adequate medical treatment Art 5 § 1 (a) and (c) • Unlawful arrest and detention • No information as to applicable laws and scarcity of official sources of information concerning legal and court system in Abkhazia • Court not in a position to verify whether de facto Abkhaz authorities and courts fulfilled Art 5 requirements • No basis for assuming existence of system in the region reflecting a judicial tradition compatible with the Convention Art 6 § 1 (criminal) and 6 § 3 (c) • Lack of fair hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law • De facto Abkhaz courts could not qualify as a “tribunal established by law” • No real opportunity to organise defence and effectively benefit from the assistance of a lawyer throughout proceedings   STRASBOURG 7 March 2023   FINAL   07/06/2023   This judgment has become final under Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision. Table of contents INTRODUCTION THE FACTS I.   Background II.   The events relating to the first applicant, Mr   L.   Mamasakhlisi A.   The explosion and related detention according to the applicant B.   The judgment sentencing the applicant C.   Subsequent developments D.   The first applicant’s release E.   Subsequent medical examination F.   Investigation carried out by the Georgian authorities into the first applicant’s detention III.   The events relating to the second applicant, Ms   D.   Mamasashkili IV.   The events relating to the third applicant, Mr   G.   Nanava V.   Relations between the respondent Governments and the Abkhaz de facto authorities A.   Relations between the Russian Federation and the Abkhaz de facto authorities 1.   Submissions by the applicants and the Government of Georgia (a)   Military aspects (i)   General military involvement (ii)   Gudauta military base (iii)   Official statements in support of Russian citizens worldwide (iv)   Further information from international sources (v)   Events subsequent to the military conflict of August 2008 between Georgia and Russia (b)   Political connections and economic support 2.   Submissions by the Government of Russia (a)   Military aspects (b)   Political connections and economic support B.   Relations between Georgia and the Abkhaz de facto authorities 1.   Submissions by the applicants 2.   Submissions by the Georgian Government (a)   Measures aimed at resolving the conflict and observing human rights in Abkhazia (b)   Individual measures taken by Georgia in order to ensure the first and third applicants’ rights under the Convention (i)   In respect of the first applicant (ii)   In respect of the third applicant 3.   Submissions by the Russian Government RELEVANT LEGAL FRAMEWORK Documents of international organisations Council of Europe 1.   Report by Mr Alvaro Gil-Robles, Commissioner for Human Rights, on his visit to Georgia, 13 July 2000 (CommDH(2000)3) 2.   Third General Report [CPT/Inf (93) 12] by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (“the CPT”) 3.   Report [CPT/Inf (2009) 38] on the visit to the region of Abkhazia, Georgia, carried out by the CPT from 27 April until 4 May 2009 THE LAW I.   PRELIMINARY ISSUES A.   The Court’s assessment of the facts B.   Temporal scope of the case C.   Right to pursue the application in the stead of the third applicant II.   JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS III.   Admissibility issues A.   Exhaustion of domestic remedies and compliance with the six-month time-limit 1.   The parties’ positions (a)   Submissions by the Russian Federation (b)   Submissions by Georgia (c)   Submissions by the applicants 2.   The Court’s assessment (a)   The Court’s case-law (b)   Application of the above principles to the present case (i)   Exhaustion of domestic remedies (ii)   Compliance with the six-month time-limit B.   Lack of “victim” status of the applicants as regards their complaint under Article 8 1.   The parties’ positions (a)   Submissions by the Russian Federation (b)   Submissions by the applicants (c)   Submissions by Georgia 2.   The Court’s assessment C.   Lack of substantiation of the remaining complaints of the first and third applicants under Articles 3, 5 § 1, 5 § 3, 5 § 4, 6 § 1, 6 § 3 (c) and 13 1.   The parties’ positions 2.   The Court’s assessment D.   Incompatibility ratione temporis and ratione materiae of the complaints with the Convention provisions 1.   The parties’ positions 2.   The Court’s assessment E.   Jurisdiction ( ratione personae and ratione loci ) 1.   The parties’ positions (a)   The applicants (i)   The jurisdiction of Georgia (ii)   The jurisdiction of the Russian Federation (b)   The Georgian Government (i)   The jurisdiction of Georgia (ii)   The jurisdiction of the Russian Federation (c)   The Russian Government (i)   Jurisdiction of the Republic of Georgia (ii)   Jurisdiction of the Russian Federation 2.   The Court’s assessment (a)   General principles relating to the concept of jurisdiction under Article 1 of the Convention (b)   Application of these principles to the facts of the case (i)   The jurisdiction of Georgia (ii)   The jurisdiction of the Russian Federation (α)   Military involvement (β)   Political, economic and financial support () Conclusion IV.   ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 3 OF THE CONVENTION A.   Admissibility B.   Merits 1.   Submissions by the parties (a)   The Georgian Government (b)   The Russian Government (c)   The applicants (i)   In respect of Georgia’s responsibility (ii)   In respect of Russia’s responsibility 2.   The Court’s assessment (a)   General principles (b)   Application of these principles to the present case (i)   As regards the first applicant (α)   Lack of adequate medical treatment in detention (β)   Inadequate conditions of detention Ill-treatment during the interrogation (i) As regards the third applicant 3.   Responsibility of the respondent States (a)   As regards Georgia Conclusion (b)   As regards the Russian Federation V.   ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 5 § 1 OF THE CONVENTION A.   Admissibility B.   Merits 1.   Submissions by the parties (a)   The applicants (b)   The Russian Government (c)   The Georgian Government 2.   The Court’s assessment 3.   Responsibility of the respondent States VI.   ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF ARTICLE 5 §§ 3 and 4 OF THE CONVENTION VII.   ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF ARTICLE 6 §§ 1 and 3 OF THE CONVENTION A.   Submissions by the parties B.   The Court’s assessment C.   Responsibility of the respondent States VIII.   OTHER   ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF THE CONVENTION IX.   APPLICATION OF ARTICLE   41 OF THE CONVENTION A.   Damage B.   Costs and expenses C.   Default interest OPERATIVE PROVISIONS   In the case of Mamasakhlisi and Others v. Georgia and Russia, The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:   Arnfinn Bårdsen , President ,   Jovan Ilievski,   Egidijus Kūris,   Pauliine Koskelo,   Lado Chanturia,   Lorraine Schembri Orland,   Diana Sârcu , judges , and Hasan Bakırcı, Section Registrar, Having regard to: application no. 29999/04 against Georgia and the Russian Federation lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by two Georgian nationals, Mr Levan Mamasakhlisi (“the first applicant”) and Ms   Dinara Mamasakhlisi (“the second applicant”), on 3 August 2004; application no. 41424/04 against Georgia and the Russian Federation lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by Mr   Grigol   Nanava (“the third applicant”), on 19 November 2004; the decision to give notice to the Georgian and Russian Governments (“the respondent Governments”) of the two applications; the decision of 29 August 2006 by a Chamber of the Second Section of the Court to indicate, as an interim measure under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, to both respondent Governments to use all means available, without delay, to provide adequate medical treatment for the first applicant who was in prison at the time; the decision of 13 March 2012 by the President of the Third Section to lift the interim measure of 29 August 2006 under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, in the light of the latest developments of the case; the consolidated observations submitted by the respondent Governments and by the applicants; the observations in reply submitted by the respondent Governments and the applicants; the comments submitted on 16 August 2007 by the former Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights (“the Commissioner”), who had been invited by the President of the Second Section to intervene in the context of application no. 29999/04; Having deliberated in private on 7 February 2023, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date: INTRODUCTION 1 .     Application no. 29999/04 was communicated to the two respondent Governments – respectively the Governments of Georgia and the Russian Federation – on 29 August 2006. 2.     The two respondent Governments were given notice of application no.   41424/04 on 27 November 2006. 3.     The applications concern the following complaints by the first and third applicants: (under Article 3 of the Convention) their alleged ill-treatment during their questioning in Abkhazia, the allegedly inadequate conditions of their subsequent detention and the failure to provide them during their detention with any appropriate medical care; (under Article 5 §§ 1, 3 and 4) their allegedly unlawful detention; (under Article 6 §§ 1 and 3(c)) a breach of their right to a fair trial by an independent and impartial tribunal, and the failure to provide them with legal assistance of their choosing; and (under Article 2 of Protocol No. 7 to the Convention) the lack of any possibility for them to appeal to a higher tribunal against their sentences. The Court notes that the term “Abkhazia” refers to the region in Georgia which is currently outside the de facto control of the Georgian Government. 4.     All three applicants, who had been granted legal aid, also complained under Article 8 of a breach of their right to respect for family life as a result of the lack of any possibility for the first and second applicants to meet with each other, or for the third applicant to meet with his wife; they also complained of the fact that they had had no effective remedies at their disposal (under Article 13) in relation to those complaints. 5.     Following an exchange of observations, the Georgian Government withdrew their observations in their entirety in 2008. 6.     On 15 September 2016 the parties were invited to submit their consolidated position on the admissibility and merits of the application, in the light of the questions that had been put to them in 2006 or 2007, taking into account possible subsequent factual and legal developments in the case. 7.     The first applicant, Mr Levan Mamasakhlisi, is a Georgian national who was born in 1980 in Gagra, in the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia (“Abkhazia”), Georgia. 8.     The second applicant, Ms Dinara Mamasakhlisi, was a Georgian national born in 1938 in the Khobi District, Georgia. She was first applicant’s grandmother; she died in November 2011. On 19 July 2012 the first applicant expressed a wish to continue the application on her behalf, as her next of kin, as well as on his own behalf. He did not submit a certificate showing that he is her heir. 9 .     The third applicant, Mr Grigol Nanava, was a Georgian national who was born in 1922. He died on 6 December 2006. On 3 July 2007, a Chamber of the Second Section decided to allow the applicant’s wife, Ms   Gogona Todua, to pursue the application in her late husband’s stead. 10 .     In a letter of 5 April 2022 the third applicant’s representative informed the Court that Ms Gogona Todua had passed away on 1 August 2021 and relayed the request of her grandson, Mr Saba Tordia (born Saba Nanava), to continue pursuing the case. The representative submitted a death certificate for Ms Gogona Todua, an heirs’ certificate indicating Mr Saba Tordia as her only heir (Mr Saba Tordia’s father, Gocha Nanava, having passed away), as well as Ms Gogona Todua’s will expressing a wish that the examination of the case continues. 11.     The applicants were represented before the Court by Mr P. Beria, Ms   N.   Katsitadze, Mr V. Vakhtangadze and Mr G. Mitrtskhulava, lawyers practising in Tbilisi; they were joined later by Mr Jarlath Clifford, Mr Philip Leach, Ms Joanne Sawyer and Ms Jess Gavron, lawyers from the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (“EHRAC”). 12.     The Georgian Government were, successively, represented by their Agents, Ms E. Gureshidze, Ms I. Bartaia, Mr D. Tomadze, Mr   L.   Meskhoradze and Mr B. Dzamashvili, of the Ministry of Justice. 13.     The Russian Government were, successively, represented by their Agents, Mr P. Laptev, Ms V. Milinchuk, Mr G. Matyushkin and Mr   M.   Galperin, Representatives of the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights. 14.     On 16 March 2022 the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, in the context of a procedure launched under Article 8 of the Statute of the Council of Europe, adopted Resolution CM/Res(2022)2, by which the Russian Federation ceased to be a member of the Council of Europe as from 16 March 2022 . 15.     On 22 March 2022 the Court, sitting in plenary session in accordance with Rule 20 § 1, adopted the “Resolution of the European Court of Human Rights on the consequences of the cessation of membership of the Russian Federation to the Council of Europe in light of Article 58 of the European Convention on Human Rights”. It stated that the Russian Federation would cease to be a High Contracting Party to the Convention on 16 September 2022. 16.     On 5 September 2022 the Plenary Court took formal notice of the fact that the office of judge with respect of the Russian Federation would cease to exist after 16 September 2022. This, as a consequence, entailed that there was no longer a valid list of ad hoc judges who would be eligible to take part in the consideration of cases where the Russian Federation was the respondent State. 17.     By a letter of 8 November 2022, the Russian Government were informed, inter alia , that the Court intended to appoint one of the sitting judges of the Court to act as an ad hoc judge for the examination of applications against that State that the Court remained competent to deal with (applying by analogy Rule 29 § 2 of the Rules of Court). The Russian Government were invited to comment on that arrangement by 22 November 2022 but they did not submit any comments. 18.     Accordingly, in the present case the President of the Chamber decided to appoint an ad   hoc judge from among the members of the composition, applying by analogy Rule   29 §   2 (b). THE FACTS 19.     The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows. Background 20.     The Democratic Republic of Georgia, which was established in 1918 as an independent State, became the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (“the GSSR”) as a result of the military occupation by the Russian Soviet Army in February 1921. In 1936, the GSSR became part of the USSR, as one of its separate constituent entities. In the meantime, in 1931, Abkhazia was defined as an Autonomous Republic within the GSSR. 21.     According to the USSR census of 1989, the population of Abkhazia was approximately 525,100 people. Of those, 45.7% were Georgians, 17.8%   Abkhazians, 14.6% Armenians, 14.2% Russians, 2.8% Greeks, 2.2%   Ukrainians and 0.1% Belorusians, Jews and others. 22.     On 9   April 1991 Georgia declared independence from the USSR within the territorial borders of the former GSSR. 23.     On 8 December 1991, the Minsk Agreement was signed, which declared the end of the Soviet Union’s existence and set up the Commonwealth of Independent States (“the CIS”). Georgia joined the CIS in December 1993. 24.     On 6 July 1992 Georgia became a member State of the United Nations, with its internationally recognised sovereign territory encompassing Abkhazia. 25 .     Abkhazia spans 3,300 square miles (about 8,500 square kilometres) on Georgia’s northwest coast, sharing a border with the Russian Federation to the north, and the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Region (within Georgia) to the south. Some three-quarters of Abkhazia’s land is mountainous. 26 .     By 1992 ethnic tensions between Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia were increasing. Abkhazia declared its independence from Georgia on 23   July 1992. 27 .     On 14 August 1992, Georgian government forces entered Abkhaz territory. The Georgian armed forces proceeded to Sukhumi, the Abkhaz capital, where they attacked Abkhaz government buildings. Thereafter, a violent conflict erupted between Abkhaz forces and the central government of Georgia. The Abkhaz fought for independence from Georgia; the Georgian government sought to maintain control over its territory. Intensive fighting took place on land, air and sea. Several thousand people were killed and many more wounded on both sides; hundreds of thousands of people were displaced from their homes. The Abkhaz forces were supported by fighters from the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation. 28 .     On 24 August 1993 (in Resolution 858) the UN Security Council established a United Nations Observer Mission to Georgia (UNOMIG). UNOMIG also encompassed the Human Rights Office in Abkhazia (HROAG), which was established in December 1996, under Security Council Resolution 1077. 29 .     The fighting did not come to a halt, and in September 1993 the Abkhaz forces, with armed support from outside Abkhazia, took full control of the disputed territory. The conflict led to the almost complete devastation of large areas and a massive displacement of people. A UN fact-finding mission, dispatched by the UN Secretary General in October 1993, reported that both Georgian government forces and Abkhaz forces, as well as irregulars and civilians cooperating with them, had been responsible for serious human rights violations. Similar findings were contained in a report by Human Rights Watch dated 1 March 1995. 30 .     Numerous international sources have described the violence as “ethnic cleansing” against the Georgian population of Abkhazia. It was also reported that Abkhaz were particularly targeted by violence in areas controlled by Georgian government forces in the first four months after August 1992. 31 .     On 14 May 1994 the Georgian and Abkhaz parties signed, in Moscow, an Agreement on a Ceasefire and Separation of Forces (“the Ceasefire Agreement”). The parties agreed to the deployment of a CIS Collective Peacekeeping Force (“the CIS CPF”) to monitor compliance with the Agreement. 32.     The Ceasefire Agreement established a security zone between Georgian-controlled territory and Abkhazia, in which no armed forces or heavy military equipment were to be permitted. A perimeter was defined on each side of the security zone, which was to be a restricted-weapons zone where no heavy military equipment was to be permitted. The security and restricted-weapons zones ran along the Enguri River, coinciding with the Georgian-Abkhaz administrative boundary. The local civil authorities were to function in the security zone and the restricted-weapons zone. Any movement of the CIS CPF and of the international observers outside the security zone was to be subject to the agreement of the parties. 33.     A protocol to the Ceasefire Agreement defined the mandate of the CIS CPF. In particular, the parties agreed that its function was to maintain the ceasefire and to prevent the resumption of hostilities in the conflict area by disengaging the armed groups of the opposing parties from each other. In carrying out its mission, the peacekeeping force was to enjoy freedom of movement within the security zone and the restricted-weapons zone, and freedom of communications and other facilities needed to fulfil its mission. 34 .     In a document issued on 22 August 1994 and entitled “Decision by the Council of Heads of State of the CIS”, it was determined that the CIS CPF would number about 1,500 to 3,000 people and would mainly be comprised of the Russian military personnel already stationed in the conflict zone, and that the (already deployed) representative of the Russian Armed Forces in the conflict zone would be appointed as commander of the CIS CPF. Beginning in June 1994, Russia deployed some 3,000 peacekeepers under the CIS CPF banner to demine the conflict zone. From 15 November 1994 onwards, the duration and mandate of the CIS CPF were extended about every six months, until 2003. 35 .     The Council of Heads of State of the CIS adopted a decision on 19   January 1996 entitled “On measures for the settlement of the conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia” (“the 1996 CIS decision”), agreeing that CIS member State would be banned from affording military assistance, from providing or selling military equipment to the Abkhaz authorities and from carrying out economic, trade, financial, transport or other operations with the Abkhaz authorities without the agreement of Georgia. States also undertook to prevent the recruitment of their citizens to fight in the conflict zone and not to enter into official contacts with representatives or officials of Abkhazia. In March 2008 Russia unilaterally withdrew from this agreement, arguing that it prevented the realisation of socio-economic programmes. 36 .     A formal agreement on the commencement of the withdrawal of the Russian forces and weapons from military bases in Georgia was reached at the OSCE Istanbul Summit in 1999. 37 .     Following a March 2003 working meeting between the then Russian and Georgian Presidents, the Council of the Heads of State of the CIS decided on 19 September 2003 to extend the mandate of the CIS CPF until such time as either of the opposing sides asked that it be terminated. The decision stated that, if a request to that effect were to be made by either side, then the termination of the peacekeeping operation would be automatic and the commander of the CIS CPF, in coordination with the Georgian side, would ensure that the force left, together with any military equipment and arms, within a one-month period. The decision reiterated that Abkhazia constituted an inherent part of Georgia and provided that the UN Security Council was to be informed of the decision. The events relating to the first applicant, Mr   L.   Mamasakhlisi The explosion and related detention according to the applicant 38 .     On 7 August 2001, an explosive device exploded in the first applicant’s hands, blowing off his right hand and three fingers of his left hand and injuring his chest, abdominal area and both eyes. The device was a hand ‑ made grenade which the applicant had intended to use for killing fish. At the time of the incident he was in his mother’s apartment in Pitsunda, Abkhazia. 39.     His right hand and three fingers on his left hand were operated on and amputated in Gagra Hospital. 40 .     According to the applicant, when he recovered consciousness after the operation, he could hear, but not see, representatives of the de facto Abkhaz security forces. They repeatedly intimidated him and threatened to let him die if he did not confess that he had been intending to blow up certain targets in the city. The applicant kept denying any such intentions. With the assistance of his mother, he was visited by a lawyer of Georgian origin who promised to help him but who did not reappear thereafter. The applicant was told by his mother that the lawyer had been intimidated by the Abkhaz security forces, as a result of which he had ended his representation of the applicant. The security forces visited the applicant every day in hospital and threatened him with the death penalty if he did not confess. 41 .     On 10 August 2001 the applicant was transferred from Gagra Hospital to Sukhumi Hospital, despite his very poor condition. On 12 August 2001 he was moved to a temporary detention facility (“IVS”) of the de facto Security Service of Abkhazia in Sukhumi (“the Security Service IVS” – see the description of that establishment given by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (“CPT”) in the relevant parts of its report on its visit to Abkhazia in 2009 in the “Relevant legal framework” section below). He was physically supported by three officers of the Security Service IVS, as he was unable to walk unassisted. 42 .     In the detention cell, he was kept isolated in complete darkness and was given insufficient food, of poor quality and repulsive taste. There was no drinking water in the cell. He was given water by the prison guards – sometimes a bottle a day, sometimes nothing at all, depending on the will of the guard. There was only an iron bed in his cell, without linen or a mattress. There was no heating and it felt freezing in the winter. The cell was infested with cockroaches. He could not take a shower or change his clothes. No medication was provided to him. 43 .     The first three months were especially difficult for the applicant as he could not see anything as a result of the explosion and could not take care of himself. His eyes ached a lot. He was in solitary confinement and was not allowed to leave the cell or to contact anyone. At times, he heard desperate screams for help from other prisoners who he believed were being tortured. He could hear questioners shouting slurs at them and yelling “Don’t let him lose consciousness! Don’t you dare pass out!”. During that period, he lost all track of time until he was visited by representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) about two and a half months after he had been placed in detention. He was experiencing severe asthma attacks at the time of the ICRC’s visit, and his wounds had started to fester by that point. His bandages were cleaned and his injuries treated for the first time only after an intervention by the ICRC, about three months after he had been detained. 44.     During the first three months of his detention, he was questioned every day, away from his cell, for a few hours at a time. During the questioning he was threatened with being shot, beaten or left to rot in his cell. His questioners also repeatedly humiliated him and slapped him on the head. He was told that Abkhazia was not his homeland and that he should have stayed away like the rest of the Georgians; he was also told that all Georgians should be killed, as they had fought against the Abkhaz people. Five or six times he was subjected to mock executions. He was also wakened up every night and made to say his own name. In addition to the investigator and an assistant, a high-ranking military officer was present during the questioning. 45 .     No legal assistance was provided to him and he was not in a condition to request it. The security forces twice brought a person who was introduced as his lawyer. However, that person did nothing but intimidate the applicant and tell him to confess or face severe consequences. The applicant could not see him but could feel a gun touch his skin during one of those meetings. 46.     He was deprived of contact with his relatives. On one occasion, he was beaten severely after he attempted to speak to the detainee in the cell next to his. 47 .     Some months into his detention, in order to survive, the applicant confessed to everything he had been asked. The confession was recorded with a video recorder. He had no recollection of having signed any document. 48 .     An article in the 19 October 2001 edition of the Russian newspaper Trud reported on the contents of a video recording of the applicant’s questioning following the above incident. While the article indicated that the authenticity of the recording was impossible to establish, it stated that the applicant had confessed that he had been recruited by the Georgian secret services in order to place bombs in the town of Pitsunda, Abkhazia, in order to scare Russian tourists away. The judgment sentencing the applicant 49 .     The applicant’s case was heard on 15 February 2002 by the de facto Abkhazia Military Court, sitting as a single judge. The hearing took place at the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior in Sukhumi, in the presence of a prosecutor and a woman, whose name the applicant did not know. The woman was introduced to him as his lawyer and remained silent during the whole of the proceedings. According to the applicant, the trial lasted for about two hours, was held behind closed doors and only his mother and brother were allowed to attend. Several witnesses were heard. One of them, whom the applicant had met before but whose name he could not remember, stated that he knew about the applicant’s secret cooperation with the security services of Georgia and about his intentions to blow up targets in Abkhazia. The applicant himself was not asked any questions and did not use the opportunity to make a closing statement. After the end of the trial the judge left the room for about two minutes, following which he returned and announced the verdict. 50.     On 15 February 2002 the de facto Abkhazia Military Court found the applicant guilty of the following offences under the Criminal Code of the de facto Republic of Abkhazia: high treason (Article 65); attempted sabotage (Articles 17-69); the illegal carrying, keeping, obtaining, production or installation of military equipment and explosive devices (Article 238(I)(II)); and illegally crossing the border of and entering the Republic (Article 84(II)). The court sentenced him to twelve years’ imprisonment. 51.     According to the judgment, on 9 July 2001 the applicant had unlawfully crossed the border of Abkhazia from Georgia and arrived at his mother’s residence in the town of Pitsunda (also known as Bichvinta), Gagra District, in order to perform acts of sabotage. On 23 July 2001 he had allegedly collected nine explosive devices with a high destructive capability from a hiding place in the main cemetery in the town of Gagra, located close to Pitsunda. He had then stored the explosive devices in the bathroom of his mother’s flat, hiding them from her and his close relatives. 52.     On 7 August 2001, he had begun assembling the devices and switching them to operational mode in preparation for placing them in locations where he intended them to explode; one such scheduled explosion was planned for the Pitsunda health resort. At about 11.15 a.m., in the course of switching on the ninth explosive device, it had detonated spontaneously. As a result he had suffered fragmentation wounds and had then been taken to Gagra Central Republican Hospital. He had thus failed to realise his criminal plan owing to circumstances beyond his control. He had been subsequently arrested by the de facto Abkhaz state security service. 53.     When examined by the Abkhazia Military Court during the trial, he had made a full confession and had provided detailed explanations regarding how, since 1996, he had been cooperating with a named agent of the Georgian State Security Service. In particular, he had been collecting information of a military-political and economic nature which had then been used by the Georgian authorities to the detriment of the national security of Abkhazia. More specifically, between 1996 and 2000, he had repeatedly unlawfully crossed the State border into Abkhazia and had gathered information about the number of buildings used as holiday accommodation and their capacity to accommodate people, as well as about the quantities of wood destined for export and the construction of a docks area for shipping. He had passed that information on in writing to his handler in Tbilisi. He had admitted that he had pursued this activity out of a personal need for revenge for his father’s killing during the Georgian-Abkhaz war in the early 1990s. In May 2001 he had attended a specialised camp close to the “Tbilisi sea” (an artificial lake in the vicinity of   Tbilisi   that serves as a reservoir) in order to learn how to handle explosives. 54.     The de facto Abkhazia Military Court found that, in addition to his own confession, a number of witnesses (named in the judgment) had confirmed the applicant’s guilt in relation to treason, sabotage, the unlawful keeping and transportation of explosives, and the unlawful crossing of the State border. A forensic technical examination of the explosives had established that they had been produced in a factory and had been designed to allow for a delayed explosion of up to seven hours. 55 .     The text of the judgment read that a forensic medical examination had determined that the applicant had suffered second-degree haemorrhagic shock. His right hand had been blown off, and so had two fingers of his left hand. He had also received shrapnel wounds to his chest, face and both hips. The bodily injuries, the amputation of his right hand and the broken bones on his left hand had “corresponded to the category of less severe injuries”. According to a forensic psychiatric report, the applicant had been mentally fit to stand trial, and he had not required any “medical intervention”. 56 .     The text of the judgment indicated that it was possible to lodge an appeal with the criminal section of the Supreme Court of Abkhazia within seven days of its delivery. 57 .     According to the first applicant, he was not informed at any time of the possibility to appeal. He only saw for the first time the lawyer that had been appointed by the de facto authorities to represent him at the court hearing and had no contact with her before, during or after that hearing. 58.     According to the Russian Government, the applicant became aware of the contents of the judgment on the same day that it was delivered by the Abkhaz Military Court (15 February 2002) on account of its public pronouncement. 59 .     The Government of Georgia did not challenge the facts as set out by the applicant. The Russian Government submitted that the applicant’s allegations were unfounded and not supported by evidence (see also paragraphs 243 and 285 below). 60 .     On 26 August 2002 the ICRC certified that the first applicant had been included in the ICRC’s list of detainees since 18 September 2001 and had been visited while in detention by members of that organisation. Subsequent developments 61 .     One week after the trial, the first applicant was taken to a cell in the building of the de facto Abkhaz ministry of the interior in Sukhumi (“the Sukhumi IVS”); he remained in that building for the following two years. (At the time in question the de facto Abkhaz ministry of the interior and the security service shared the same building.) According to the applicant, the light in his cell was permanently turned on, so he could barely sleep for the first three months of his detention. The cell was full of cockroaches and rodents, and very dirty. He developed eczema, which was diagnosed by a doctor provided to him by the ICRC. The same doctor established that a fragment of explosive remained lodged in one of his eyes. He also had a skin rash all over his body. During the