5.  The applicant was born in 1966 and lives in Chevelcha.
6.  Between October 2003 and November 2004 a number of thefts of cattle from different farms were committed and criminal proceedings were instituted on that account.
7.  In the early morning of 2 November 2004 a cow and a bull were stolen from a farm in a village next to the one in which the applicant lived.
8.  On 12 November 2004 criminal proceedings were instituted in respect of the theft of 2 November 2004.
9.  On 14 November 2004 – at 8.30 a.m. according to the applicant – the applicant was taken by the police from her home to the Orzhytsya police station (“the police station”) to verify her possible involvement in the above-mentioned criminal offences.
10.  According to the applicant, at the police station she was subjected to beatings and psychological pressure with a view to extracting her confession to the cattle thefts. The police officers hit her in her face, laid her on the floor with her face dawn, stamped on her legs and twisted her arms back. She was also made to spread her legs as widely as possible while standing and threatened with a beating if she fell down. Her requests for legal assistance were allegedly rejected.
11.  The Government maintained that the applicant had not been subjected to any ill-treatment.
12.  On the same day, in police custody, the applicant drafted “statements of surrender and confession” (явка з повинною) in which she confessed to several counts of cattle theft and gave “explanations” in which, according to the Government, she submitted that she had committed the criminal offences as a member of a group of persons. No copies of those statements and “explanations” have been made available to the Court. As can be seen from the available complaints lodged by the applicant’s lawyer with the domestic authorities, the applicant drafted a separate document for each of her confessions.
13.  At 6.10 p.m. on the same date the investigator of the Orzhytsya police unit dealing with the criminal proceedings concerning the cattle thefts (“the investigator”) drew up a report on the applicant’s detention as a suspect. The applicant signed a record of the explanation of procedural rights to her; in that record she stated that she did not wish to be legally represented at that stage. The investigator therefore issued a decision to conduct the pre-trial investigation into the proceedings concerning the thefts committed in 2003-2004 without the involvement of a defence lawyer.
14.  Thereafter, the applicant was questioned as a suspect in the absence of a lawyer. The verbatim record of the questioning suggests that her right to a lawyer and to a meeting with him before the first round of questioning (as well as her right not to incriminate herself) had been explained to the applicant before the start of the questioning. According to the record, the applicant confessed to a number of cattle thefts in 2003 and 2004, committed as a part of a group, and provided some details in this respect. No questions were put or remarks made by the investigator.
15.  On 16 November 2004 the applicant’s mother signed a contract for her legal representation with a lawyer, V. On three occasions on the same day and twice on 17 November 2004 (in the morning and afternoon) he attempted to hold a meeting with the applicant but for different reasons was denied access to the police station by duty officers. After each attempt on 17 November 2004, he lodged a complaint with the prosecutor’s office that the police had unlawfully obstructed him from meeting with the applicant, and submitted that all investigative steps taken with the applicant’s participation but in his absence should be considered as having been conducted in breach of her defence rights.
16.  On 17 November 2004, apparently during the lunch break, V. managed to see the investigator and requested to be admitted to the proceedings as the applicant’s lawyer on the basis of the agreement concluded with the applicant’s mother. The case-file suggests that on the same date the investigator admitted V. to the proceedings concerning the theft committed on 2 November 2004 and granted him permission to meet with the applicant.
17.  On the same date – between 8.15 and 11.30 a.m. according to the official records, and in the afternoon according to the applicant – a reconstruction of the crime was carried out in the presence of the investigator, two attesting witnesses and an expert in criminal law. The relevant record, which was signed by the applicant without any observations, suggests that before the reconstruction commenced, the applicant had been apprised of her constitutional right not to make self-incriminating statements and her right to refuse to participate in the reconstruction or to insist that it be carried out in the presence of a lawyer. The applicant declined (“in the lawyer’s presence”, according to the record) to exercise those rights and expressed her wish for the reconstruction to be carried out without the assistance of a lawyer.
18.  During the reconstruction, the applicant provided details as to the theft committed during the early morning of 2 November 2004 and pointed out the place where the stolen animals had been slaughtered by her. The immediate inspection of the place revealed two detached cattle heads and two respective identification tags.
19.  From 5 p.m. until 6.15 p.m. on the same date, a court hearing on the application of the preventive measure in respect of the applicant was held, following which the applicant’s detention was extended to ten days. As suggested by the records of the hearing, at the beginning of the hearing the applicant submitted that she wished to be represented by V. and her request was granted by the court. Upon his arrival, the applicant requested a meeting in private with V. Having heard V., who submitted that he was entitled to represent the applicant as of 9 a.m. of 16 November 2004 but since then had been unlawfully obstructed from meeting her, the court announced a break until 6.10 p.m. in order to allow the applicant to meet the lawyer in private.
20.  According to the applicant, no such meeting was ever ensured and V. was, in fact, excluded from the hearing. The verbatim record of the hearing refers to no intervention on V.’s part after the break had finished.
21.  On 17 November 2004 the applicant was transferred to the Lubny temporary detention facility (ізолятор тимчасового тримання – “the ITT”). The admissions register of the facility suggests that upon her admission the applicant was found to be suffering from abrasions on her chin, left elbow and hip, a bruise on her right hip and a scratch mark on her left knee. It is furthermore stated in the register that the applicant’s injuries had been sustained three days before her admission to the facility and that she raised no complaints before the ITT staff.
22.  On 18 November 2004 V. unsuccessfully tried to meet the applicant in the Orzhytsya ITT as he had not been informed of her transfer to the Lubny ITT. On the same date he lodged a complaint with the prosecutor’s office, stating that he had been unable to meet the applicant and had not been informed of her transfer to the Lubny ITT.
23.  On 19 November 2004 the deputy head of the Lubny ITT declined to allow V. to meet with the applicant as the investigator’s room was allegedly occupied and there was no other way to allow his request. On the same date V. complained to the prosecutor about this fact. He noted, in particular, that he had waited at the Lubny ITT until the end of the working day and had seen nobody coming out of the premises but the police officers from the Orzhytsya police unit; this, in his opinion, constituted evidence that they had been “working with the applicant” in the lawyer’s absence.
24.  On 23 November 2004 V. again complained to the Orzhytsya prosecutor’s office that he was still not able to see the applicant and that no response had been given by the prosecutor to his four earlier complaints about violations of the applicant’s defence rights and his rights as her lawyer.
25.  On the same date, from 12.29 until 4.14 p.m., another reconstruction of the crime was carried out in the presence of the investigator, two attesting witnesses and an expert in criminal law. The relevant verbatim record, which was signed by the applicant without observations, suggests that, on being informed of her procedural rights, the applicant declined to be assisted by a lawyer during this investigative step.
26.  During the reconstruction, the applicant provided details as to nine episodes of cattle thefts that she had allegedly committed as part of a group in 2003 and 2004 and showed the directions from which her accomplices had brought the stolen animals to her and the places where the cattle had been slaughtered by her. The record of the reconstruction furthermore suggests that once the reconstruction was terminated, the applicant attested that she had given that evidence of her own free will, without any physical and psychological influence being exerted by the police.
27.  On 24 November 2004, on being notified of her procedural rights as a suspect, the applicant expressed her wish to be represented by V. On the same date the latter was admitted to the proceedings concerning the thefts committed in 2003-2004.
28.  On the same day, in V.’s presence, the applicant was charged with having committed, as a member of a group, the theft on 2 November 2004. She was then questioned as an accused in this respect. The applicant denied her guilt for the theft and submitted that she had given her earlier statements after being told that other persons had incriminated her in the theft and that there was thus no point in her denying her guilt. When asked how it had then happened that she had known and shown the place where the slaughtered animals’ heads had been hidden, she stated that she had been told about the place by the attesting witnesses.
29.  On 3 December 2004 a new investigator was appointed to the criminal proceedings concerning the applicant.
30.  On 9 December 2004 the Orzhytsya prosecutor ordered the head of the Orzhytsya police unit to cease the violations of the applicant’s defence rights and to ensure that she could meet with her lawyer, V., without any limitations as to the number and duration of such meetings.
31.  On 17 December 2004 V. was denied a meeting with the applicant as he had not received any authorisation to do so from the newly appointed investigator to the case. On the same day V. complained about this fact to the prosecutor, referring to the police’s failure to comply with the prosecutor’s order of 9 December 2004 (see paragraph 30 above).
32.  On 22 December 2004, on being notified of her procedural rights in the case concerning the theft committed during the early morning of 2 November 2004, the applicant expressed a wish to be represented by V. On the same date, the investigator admitted V. to these proceedings.
33.  On 23 December 2004 V. was again denied a meeting with the applicant as “there had been no information proving his admission to the proceedings”. On the following day the applicant lodged a complaint with the prosecutor’s office regarding this refusal to allow her to meet her lawyer. The latter furthermore submitted that on 22 December 2004 his meeting with the applicant had been interrupted and she had been taken out of the meeting room.
34.  On the same date, on 23 December 2004, during a court hearing regarding the application of the preventive measure, which was held in the presence of V., from 10 until 12 a.m., the applicant submitted, inter alia, that on the morning of 14 November 2004, at the police station, she had denied having participated in the thefts and had unsuccessfully requested the assistance of a lawyer. She furthermore complained that the police officers had ill-treated her and forced her to draft confessions to a number of thefts, as dictated by them. She provided details of her ill‑treatment on 14 November 2004, as summarised above (see paragraph 10 above), and submitted that she had been afraid of raising any complaint during her examination by a forensic expert on 22 November 2004.
35.  On an unspecified date criminal proceedings concerning all instances of theft were joined into a single case.
36.  On 19 February 2005, being apprised of her procedural rights as an accused, the applicant stated that she wished to be represented by V. In his presence, she was charged with having organised in 2003 a criminal group and having committed in 2003 and 2004 a number of cattle thefts.
37.  On 2 March 2005, when signing a record stating that she had been acquainted with the contents of the case file, the applicant denied her guilt and stated, without giving any details, that all investigative actions had been carried out in breach of her defence rights. V. submitted that there had been no evidence of the applicant’s guilt and requested, accordingly, that the criminal proceedings against the applicant be terminated. On the same day the investigator refused the lawyer’s request as unsubstantiated and having been raised in only general terms.
38.  On 22 March 2005 the case against the applicant and her alleged accomplices was sent for trial to the Chornukhinskiy District Court, Poltava Region (“the District Court”).
39.  On 19 April 2005 the District Court held a preparatory hearing in the presence of all the defendants and of V. No complaints were raised by them during that hearing.
40.  During the trial the applicant pleaded not guilty and claimed, inter alia, that her self-incriminating statements had been obtained by the police by means of ill-treatment and in the absence of a lawyer. Similar statements were made by the applicant’s co-defendants.
41.  On 15 September 2005 the District Court found the applicant guilty on a number of counts of theft and sentenced her to five years’ imprisonment. In doing so, it referred mainly to the self-incriminatory statements made by the applicant on 14, 17 and 23 November 2004 (see paragraphs 12, 14, 18 and 26 above) and the confessions given by her accomplices during the pre-trial investigation. When dismissing the applicants’ allegations of ill-treatment by the police, the District Court referred to the statements of attesting witnesses present at the crime reconstructions of 17 and 23 November 2004 (see paragraphs 17 and 25 above); according to those witnesses, the applicant and other defendants had given evidence at those crime reconstructions of their own free will. It furthermore referred to evidence given by the police officers concerned (all of whom had denied all allegations of ill-treatment) and to the fact that no injuries had been found on the applicant’s body during her medical examinations on 22 and 25 November 2004 (see paragraphs 52 and 55 below). The court also stated that during the whole pre-trial investigation the defendants had acknowledged their guilt and had never complained about any ill-treatment, but had retracted their statements only during the trial (which the court considered they had done simply as part of their defence strategy).
42.  On appeal of the applicant, on 15 March 2006 the Poltava Regional Court of Appeal (“the Court of Appeal”) quashed the above-mentioned judgment and remitted the case for fresh examination. It noted, inter alia, the selective approach taken by the trial court to the assessment of evidence in the case, including the evidence concerning the alleged ill-treatment, and a breach of the applicant’s defence rights.
43.  On 20 March 2007 the prosecutor withdrew charges against the applicant on four counts of theft for lack of evidence.
44.  On 18 April 2007 the District Court found the applicant and her co‑defendants guilty as charged and sentenced them to different terms of imprisonment. The applicant was given a four-year suspended sentence. The court based the applicant’s conviction on: her voluntary surrender to the police and the self-incriminatory statements that she had made on 14, 17 and on 23 November 2004 (see paragraphs 12, 14, 18 and 26 above); confessions given by her accomplices during the pre-trial investigation; the records of the crime scene examinations; and statements by the victims (that is to say farm owners) and witnesses confirming the fact that animals had been stolen from the farms.
45.  The District Court dismissed the defendants’ allegations of ill‑treatment by the police as ill-founded. It noted in this respect that the police officers concerned had denied all allegations of ill-treatment; a surgeon, N., who examined the applicant on 25 November 2004 (see paragraph 55 below) had submitted that he had found no bodily injuries when he had examined her; the forensic expert who had examined the applicant on 22 November 2004 had also attested that no injuries had been found by him on the applicant’s body (see paragraph 52 below); and attesting witnesses who had been present at the crime reconstructions (in which the defendants had participated) had submitted that the applicant and other defendants had given evidence of their own free will.
46.  The applicant appealed, submitting that the District Court had failed to comply with the instructions of the Court of Appeal and to duly examine the allegations made by her and her co-defendants of ill-treatment by the police. She stated, inter alia, that the District Court had deliberately ignored evidence proving her bodily injuries. She relied, inter alia, on the relevant data from the admissions register of the Lubny ITT (see paragraph 21 above) and the testimony of a prosecutor who had seen the applicant’s injuries. The applicant furthermore contested the credibility of the statements given by the police officers in the light of the fact that they were direct perpetrators. She also stated that two of the attesting witnesses could not be objective as at the time of the events in question one of them had been undergoing prosecution by the police and the other one was himself a former police officer who had close ties with the police. She furthermore submitted that the District Court had falsified the statement made by N., the surgeon, during the trial regarding the results of the applicant’s examination on 25 November 2004 (see paragraph 55 below). She noted in this respect that N. had in fact confirmed that there had indeed been bodily injuries, which he had recorded in the applicant’s medical file. Lastly, the applicant stated that she had been unlawfully deprived of legal assistance between 14 and 24 November 2004 and that all the evidence on which her conviction had been based, in particular her confessions, had been obtained during that period. She also referred in this regard to the unsuccessful attempts made by her lawyer to hold a meeting with her within the above-mentioned period and to the complaints that he had unsuccessfully lodged with the prosecutor’s office in this respect.
47.  On 2 July 2008 the Court of Appeal upheld the judgment of the District Court. In doing so the court referred to (i) the applicant’s voluntary surrender to the police and to the further self-incriminatory statements that she had made during her questioning, which had been corroborated by those made by her alleged accomplices, and (ii) the fact that remains of animals had been found at the place pointed out by the applicant during the reconstruction of the crime. It furthermore stated that the applicant’s allegations of ill-treatment had been correctly dismissed by the first-instance court as unsubstantiated, given that the police officers had denied any ill‑treatment and no injuries had been uncovered in the course of the applicant’s medical examinations of 22 and 25 November 2004 or during her further medical examinations in detention in view of the worsening of her chronic health conditions.
48.  The applicant lodged a cassation appeal, maintaining, inter alia, her complaints concerning her alleged psychological and physical ill-treatment in police custody and the lack of access to a lawyer between 14 and 24 November 2004. She submitted in this respect that the courts had deliberately ignored evidence proving the fact that she had had bodily injuries shortly after her arrest.
49.  On 26 March 2009 the Supreme Court upheld the applicant’s conviction. It noted that her guilt had been proved by her own statements as a suspect in which she had confessed to the thefts and which she had later confirmed during the reconstructions of crimes. The Supreme Court furthermore found that the applicant’s statements had been corroborated by the confessions of her co-defendants. It noted that her complaint of ill‑treatment had been thoroughly examined by the lower courts and had been lawfully rejected as unsubstantiated. It also noted that the applicant’s allegations had been disproved by the testimony of the surgeon, N., and the forensic expert, as well as by that given by the police officers. As regards the alleged violation of the applicant’s defence rights, the Supreme Court noted that during the pre-trial investigation, the applicant had been informed of her right to a lawyer and that the lawyer of her choice had been admitted to the proceedings. The judgment of the Supreme Court was sent to the applicant on 8 April 2009.
50.  On a number of occasions between 16 and 21 November 2004 lawyer V. complained to the Orzhytsya prosecutor’s office of the applicant’s ill-treatment in police custody and requested that she be given a medical examination, in his presence, in order to secure evidence of that ill‑treatment.
51.  On 18 and 19 November 2004 similar complaints were made by the applicant’s mother.
52.  On 22 November 2004 the applicant was examined by a forensic medical expert. The relevant record suggests that the applicant had had no bodily injuries and had raised no complaints. According to the applicant, she had done so because she had been afraid of further beatings by the police.
53.  On 23 November 2004 the Orzhytsya prosecutor’s office declined to institute criminal proceedings in respect of the complaints of the applicant’s lawyer that the applicant had been ill-treated and her defence rights violated. No copy of that decision has been made available to the Court. According to the Government, the decision was based on the results of the applicant’s medical examination of 22 November 2004 (see paragraph 52 above), the police officers denial of ill‑treatment and on the fact that the applicant had not raised any complaint about her ill-treatment during a court hearing on the application of a preventive measure. As regards the defence rights, it was also noted that under the decision of the Orzhytsya District Court of 17 November 2004 lawyer V. had been granted permission to have a meeting with the applicant (see paragraph 19 above).
54.  On 25 November 2004 the applicant, through her lawyer, requested a meeting with the prosecutor with a view to making statements regarding “what [had been] done to her at the police station” and “how her voluntarily surrenders [had] appeared”. She also denied her guilt of any criminal offence and asked for a medical examination of her to be conducted in order to identify and treat the injuries that she had been suffering from as a result of her ill-treatment by the police and to protect her from fresh beatings.
55.  According to the extracts from the applicant’s medical file, which was provided by the latter to the Court, on the same date, on 25 November 2004, the applicant complained about her poor state of health, including pain in her left elbow. She was examined by N., a surgeon from the local civil hospital who discovered “active yellow marks” (квітучі пятна жовтуватого кольору) from 0.5 to 1 cm in diameter on the applicant’s forearms, hips and right breast. Following the examination, N. found that the applicant’s state of health did not require any medical intervention.
56.  On 26 November 2004, after having a meeting with the applicant and being given the results of the aforesaid medical examination, lawyer V. again complained to the prosecutor’s office of the applicant’s ill-treatment by the police and requested, inter alia, that she be given another forensic medical examination in his presence.
57.  On 29 November 2004 the applicant was transferred to the Poltava Temporary Detention centre (“the Poltava SIZO”). As can be seen from a certificate issued by the SIZO governor, upon her arrival the applicant underwent a medical examination which uncovered a bruise on her left hip measuring 5 cm by 3 cm and an inflammation on her left forearm.
58.  On 17 December 2004 lawyer V. complained to the prosecutor’s office that no response had been made to the applicant’s complaints of ill‑treatment.
59.  On the same date the applicant refused to undergo a medical examination unless her lawyer was present.
60.  On 21 December 2004 lawyer V. complained to the Poltava prosecutor’s office about the lack of any response to the complaints lodged regarding the applicant’s ill-treatment; the failure to conduct a medical examination of her in the absence of police officers and in the presence of her lawyer; and violations of her defence rights. He furthermore drew the prosecutor’s attention to the allegations of ill-treatment made by the applicant’s alleged accomplices, one of whom had been allegedly hospitalised after being beaten by the police.
61.  On 10 January 2005 the Poltava prosecutor’s office quashed the prosecutor’s decision of 23 November 2004 (see paragraph 53 above) as unsubstantiated and ordered an additional investigation in respect of V.’s allegations. It noted, inter alia, that the case file contained no explanations by the officers from the Orzhytsya and the Lubny ITTs and no information regarding whether the applicant had been provided with medical assistance when in the Poltava SIZO and whether she had undergone a medical examination with a view to establishing whether she had bodily injuries. It was furthermore noted that M.M., the applicant’s alleged accomplice, had also lodged a complaint about his physical and psychological ill-treatment by police officers of the Orzhytsya police unit.
62.  According to the Government, on 20 January 2005 the Orzhytsya prosecutor’s office had declined to institute criminal proceedings and the applicant had not appealed against that decision. No copy of that decision has been made available to the Court.
63.  The applicant furthermore unsuccessfully raised a complaint in respect of her ill-treatment by the police before the domestic courts (see paragraphs 40-49 above).