CEDH · PRESS;HEARINGS;ENG — 22 mars 2005

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s40F41F73 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .sCB9E0544 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left } .s69BE285C { margin-top:0pt; margin-left:85.05pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:-85.05pt } .s9A223E1B { width:11.03pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s595A57E4 { width:85.05pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s3CED24E9 { width:27.05pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s9F8EB0C0 { width:18.63pt; display:inline-block } .s9E97F54A { width:85.05pt; display:inline-block } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS   143 22.3.2005   Press release issued by the Registrar   CHAMBER HEARING SALOV v. UKRAINE   The European Court of Human Rights is holding a Chamber hearing today Tuesday 22 March 2005 at 9 a.m., on the merits in the case of Salov v. Ukraine (application no. 65518/01).   The applicant   The applicant, Sergey Petrovich Salov, is a Ukrainian national who was born in 1958 and lives in Donetsk (Ukraine). He is a lawyer and, at the time of the events in question, was the representative of a candidate for the presidency of Ukraine in the 1999 elections.   Summary of the facts   On 1 November 1999 the applicant was arrested and placed in detention for having   disseminated false information about the alleged death of presidential candidate and incumbent President, Leonid Kuchma. The information was allegedly disseminated on 30 and 31 October in the form of a statement from the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) in a special nationwide edition of the Verkhovna Rada newspaper, Holos Ukrayiny (газета “ Голос України).   On 10 November 1999 the applicant lodged with the Voroshylovsky District Court of Donetsk a petition seeking his release from detention, which was dismissed on 17 November 1999.   On 25 November 1999 the case file was transferred to the court. In the course of the trial the District Court, on 7 March 2000, ordered an additional investigation to be undertaken into the circumstances of the case.   However, on 5 April 2000 the Presidium of the Regional Court allowed a protest lodged by the prosecution against the ruling of 7 March 2000 and remitted the case for further judicial consideration.   On 6 July 2000 the applicant was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, for interfering with the citizens’ right to vote in order to influence election results by means of fraudulent behaviour. His conviction was confirmed on appeal.     Complaints   The applicant alleges that he was not brought promptly before a judge or other judicial authority to have his arrest reviewed and that his right to a fair trial was infringed, since the Presidium of the Regional Court quashed the ruling of 7 March 2000. He further complains that he was detained for 11 days in the Pre-Trial Detention Centre of Donetsk and his licence to practise as a lawyer was withdrawn.   He also maintains that he did not know whether the information about the death of the candidate Mr Kuchma published in the issue of Holos Ukrayiny newspaper was genuine, as he was not sure about the latter's state of health, and that the communication of such information to a third party should not be punishable by five years' imprisonment.   He relies on Article 5 § 3 (right to liberty and security), Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial) and Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the Convention.   Procedure   The application was lodged with the European Court of Human Rights on 26 January 2000 and declared admissible on 27 April 2004.   Composition of the Court   The case will be heard by a Chamber composed as follows:   Jean-Paul Costa (French), President , Ireneu Cabral Barreto (Portuguese), Riza Türmen (Turkish), Karel Jungwiert (Czech), Volodymyr Butkevych (Ukrainian), Mindia Ugrekhelidze (Georgian), Antonella Mularoni (San Marinese), judges , Elisabet Fura-Sandström (Swedish), Danuté Jočienė (Lithuanian), substitute judges , and also Stanley Naismith , Deputy Section Registrar .   Representatives of the parties   Government :   Valeriya Lutkovska , Agent ,   Olesya Bartovshchuk , Tetyana Totska , Counsel ;   Applicant :   Viktor Ageyev , Andriy Fedur , Stephane Dunikowski , Counsel .   Sergiy Salov will also attend the hearing.   ***   After the hearing the Court will begin its deliberations, which are held in private. Judgment will be delivered at a later date.   Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Press contacts:   Roderick Liddell (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 24 92)   Emma Hellyer (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 90 21 42 15)   Stéphanie Klein (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 21 54) Fax: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 27 91   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg by the Council of Europe Member States in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. Since 1 November 1998 it has sat as a full-time Court composed of an equal number of judges to that of the States party to the Convention. The Court examines the admissibility and merits of applications submitted to it. It sits in Chambers of 7 judges or, in exceptional cases, as a Grand Chamber of 17 judges. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe supervises the execution of the Court’s judgments. More detailed information about the Court and its activities can be found on its Internet site.