5.  The applicant was born in 1973 and lives in the village of Akhaldaba.
6.  On 16 August 2004 the applicant and two other men (“the brothers”) were arrested on identical charges of aggravated murder and illegal manufacturing, possession, and carrying of firearms.
7.  The charges against the applicant and the brothers were based on a statement given by the victim’s father, Mr V.N., who claimed to have witnessed the crime, and on other evidence, namely a hand grenade seized from the brothers’ home, as well as several forensic reports.
8.  According to Mr V.N., there was a long-running dispute between his family and the respective families of the applicant and the brothers. On two occasions, one two years earlier and the second earlier that year, the three accused attempted to rob and threaten his family, but he chose not to notify the police. Early in the morning on 14 August 2004, Mr V.N. went to work on a farm near the village and was later joined by his son. At the time of the murder, at about 10 a.m., he was working in the farmhouse while his son was outside. As he heard a gunshot, he rushed to the window and saw his son lying on the ground, about forty to forty-five metres from the building. One of the accused was holding a gun, while his brother and the applicant were shouting at him to fire another shot, which he did. The three men then ran off. Mr V.N. first ran up to his son, whose body was shaking, and then ran home to bring his car back to help him. Once he got home, he took out a gun. At that moment he was visited by his neighbours, who told him the news about his son’s death. Mr V.N. did not tell the visitors that he had been at the crime scene and witnessed his son’s murder, or that he knew anything about the shooting. He drove them to the farmhouse to see his son’s body and once there started claiming that the brothers and the applicant had killed him, without mentioning that he had witnessed the crime. It appears that he later told the police that he had witnessed the crime.
9.  Three witnesses, a father and son – Mr M.M. senior and Mr M.M. junior, and Mr S.P., testified that they lived in the same village, knew the victim’s family, and on the morning of 14 August 2004 had also been working on the farm, around two hundred metres from the crime scene. None of them had seen the victim’s father at the farm either before the murder or immediately after. According to them, however, the victim passed by their plot at around 9 a.m. and they heard shots after about fifteen to twenty minutes. They rushed to the crime scene and found the victim dead. Mr M.M. senior sent his son to notify Mr V.N. of the murder. Mr M.M. junior was joined by Mr D.M., Mr V.N.’s neighbour, along the way. They found Mr V.N. at home. On hearing the news, Mr V.N. took his car and drove Mr M.M. junior and Mr D.M. to the crime scene, without mentioning that he had witnessed the murder, or that he knew anything about it. Once Mr V.N. arrived at the crime scene, he started blaming the brothers and the applicant, without mentioning that he had personally witnessed the crime.
10.  According to several witness statements, the applicant was seen in the village sometime between 9 and 10 a.m. Ms T.M. said that she had seen him in her yard at 9.10 a.m. Mr D.K. stated that he had seen him in Ms T.M.’s yard on the morning of 14 August 2004, without specifying the exact time. Mr G.G. could recall seeing him in the village shop sometime between 10 and 11 a.m. He stated that the shop was located approximately two kilometres from the crime scene. The shopkeeper stated that the applicant had spent about two to three hours in the shop, without specifying the exact time. The applicant had allegedly heard the news about the murder while there. He was not with the brothers at the time.
11.  A forensic biological examination report (no. 140/162) ordered by a prosecutor and implemented by the Forensic Centre of the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs between 2 September and 22 October 2004 provided an analysis of bloodstains found on the trousers of one of the brothers. The blood was of type AB (II), the same as that of the victim, while the owner of the trousers had blood type AB (IV).
12.  A forensic soil examination report (no. 1700/10) ordered by a prosecutor and implemented by the Forensic and Special Research Centre of the Ministry of Justice between 7 September and 6 October 2004 provided an analysis of soil found on the brothers’ shoes in relation to soil at and around the crime scene. It found that the traces of soil on the brothers’ shoes seized from their home had the same characteristics as the soil at the crime scene.
13.  On 8 May 2006 the Tbilisi Regional Court convicted the applicant of aggravated murder and sentenced him to fifteen years’ imprisonment. The brothers were convicted of aggravated murder and illegal possession of firearms, and were sentenced to seventeen and sixteen years’ imprisonment, respectively.
14.  The first-instance court fully relied on Mr V.N.’s statement (see paragraph 8 above). It accordingly found that the ongoing dispute between the three men and the victim and his family had been the underlying cause of the crime. It continued to note that at around 10 a.m., the applicant and the brothers had gone to the victim’s farm and killed him with a gun. After one of the accused fired the first shot, his brother and the applicant shouted at him to shoot again, which he did. The gun was never recovered. In addition, the court relied on the forensic biological examination (see paragraph 11 above) and forensic soil examination (see paragraph 12 above), and other forensic evidence such as a forensic examination of the victim’s body and of the hand grenade, without elaborating on their relevance to the applicant’s conviction.
15.  The applicant’s argument that he had an alibi for the presumed time of the crime in the light of the statements given by some of the defence witnesses (see paragraph 10 above) was dismissed by the court. It noted that the statements in question were inconsistent, contradictory and aimed at shielding the accused from criminal responsibility.
16.  On 13 June 2006 only the applicant appealed against the judgment of 8 May 2006. He emphasised that unlike his co-accused, no piece of forensic evidence available in the criminal case file implicated him personally in the crime. He argued that the only piece of evidence connecting him to the murder was the eyewitness statement given by the victim’s father. However, it was doubtful whether the latter had even been at the crime scene, given the evident contradictions between his account and the statements given by witnesses M.M. junior and D.M., that they had found him at home shortly after the murder, and that he had not mentioned having witnessed the crime, despite having gone with them to the crime scene to verify the tragic news (see paragraph 9 above). He argued that Mr V.N.’s version that he had gone home after having witnessed his son’s murder without notifying anyone and without telling Mr M.M. junior and Mr D.M. that he had been at the crime scene, without any other evidence corroborating his account, created serious doubts as to the veracity of his claim to have witnessed the event. The applicant further claimed to have an alibi to the effect that he had been seen alone in the centre of the village around the time of the murder, and noted that Mr V.N. might have been implicating him out of revenge. He argued that given the lack of any response to his main arguments, the conviction rendered by the first-instance court had relied on a mere doubt devoid of any evidence, in violation of Article 503 § 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (see paragraph 31 below).
17.  On 21 September 2006 the Supreme Court, sitting as a court of second and final instance, held a hearing and upheld the lower court’s verdict. It reasoned that the lower court had acted in full compliance with Article 18 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (see paragraph 31 below) and had assessed the factual circumstances of the case fully and objectively. In upholding the lower court’s verdict, the Supreme Court fully relied on the statement of the victim’s father, the statements of the other witnesses who were told by him that the applicant had killed his son, and the forensic evidence, without addressing any of the applicant’s arguments, including that none of the cited evidence had implicated him, and that the lower court had failed to address his arguments in that regard.
18.  On an unspecified date in May 2016 the applicant was released from prison.
19.  On 19 September 2004 the applicant was remanded in custody and placed in Tbilisi Prison no. 5. He was allegedly held in an overcrowded cell, had to take turns with other prisoners to sleep, and was unable to shower for months. The toilet in the cell was not separated from the living area. He also alleged that there were rodents in his cell.
20.  On an unspecified date in 2005 the applicant was transferred to Tbilisi Prison no. 1. According to him, the conditions there were identical.
21.  On 31 March 2006 he was transferred from Tbilisi Prison no. 1 to the newly built Rustavi Prison no. 6.
22.  On 16 December 2006 the applicant was transferred to Rustavi Prison no. 2. During his time there, he was allegedly exposed to harmful emissions from a nearby concrete factory. It does not appear that he complained to the prison authorities about any aspect of his detention conditions.
23.  On 6 April 2007 the applicant was returned to Rustavi Prison no. 6. He stayed at that prison until his transfer to the prison hospital on 11 January 2009 (see paragraph 27 below).
24.  It does not transpire from the case file that the applicant raised any concerns before the prison administration or any domestic authority about the conditions of his detention in any of the penal institutions referred to above.
25.  Upon the applicant’s readmission to Rustavi Prison no. 6 on 6 April 2007 (see paragraph 23 above), he underwent a standard medical examination upon entry and was diagnosed with neurocirculatory dystonia but was not prescribed any treatment. It does not appear that the applicant lodged any complaints in that respect.
26.  On 23 June 2008 the applicant lodged a complaint with the Department of Prisons, apparently for the first time, about headaches, and requested to have a medical examination administered in that regard. On 17 December 2008, in view of the applicant’s complaint that the Government had allegedly left his medical complaints – including those concerning headaches – unaddressed, the President of the Section decided to indicate to the Government, under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, to implement all necessary measures to assess his state of health. It transpires from the information submitted by the Government that on 28 July 2008 the applicant was consulted by a neurologist concerning the headaches. He was diagnosed with neurocirculatory dystonia, hypertensive hydrocephaly syndrome, and post-traumatic brain condition, and the relevant treatment was prescribed. The applicant complained again about headaches on 18 September and 11 November 2008. The applicant’s submissions dated 29 January 2009 revealed that he had been seen by a neurologist on an unspecified date in October 2008. As regards the complaint of 11 November 2008, no immediate reaction followed from the authorities. On 14 January 2009, the applicant was consulted by a neurologist and a skull X-ray was carried out. The neurologist concluded that no pathological signs could be observed and prescribed treatment for the applicant’s headache. No complaints regarding headaches appear to have been raised following that date. As regards the other health-related complaints, on 28 October 2008 the applicant was examined and diagnosed with a chronic inflammation of the gallbladder. On 19 November 2008 an ultrasound exam was performed which confirmed the diagnosis of the chronic inflammation of the gallbladder. The relevant treatment was prescribed. The interim measure was lifted on 8 February 2012.
27.  On 11 January 2009 the applicant was transferred to the prison hospital, where he underwent a series of examinations and tests. On 16 January 2009, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. On the same day, he was put on a DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short course) programme, the strategy for the detection and treatment of tuberculosis recommended by the World Health Organisation.
28.  On 12 February 2009 the applicant was placed in a facility in Ksani for prisoners with tuberculosis.
29.  On 9 July 2009 he was placed in Tbilisi Prison no. 1 and on 21 September 2009 successfully finished his treatment in the framework of the DOTS programme.