5.  The applicant was born in 1980 and lives in Grimăncăuți.
6.  The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
7.  The applicant is a farmer who grows and sells potatoes. On 5 February 2008 he and his brother went to the Varnița village, in the vicinity of the city of Bender/Tighina. The latter is controlled by the authorities of the self-proclaimed “Moldovan Republic of Transdiestria” (“the MRT”), while Varnița itself is under Moldovan control.
8.  Having sold potatoes for some time in various places in Varnița, with authorisation from the local administration, on 5 February 2008 at around 2.30 p.m. the applicant was approached by plain clothed officers of the “MRT” customs authority. The latter asked for documents for the merchandise, including evidence of payment of taxes for importing merchandise into the “MRT”. The applicant explained that he had all the relevant documents and had paid taxes to the Moldovan local authorities in Varnița. Shortly thereafter two more officers from the “MRT” security and customs authorities arrived in a car. When the applicant’s brother announced that he had called the Moldovan police, the applicant was attacked by the “MRT” officers, forced into their car and driven away. The Moldovan police arrived after the impugned event.
9.  Later in the evening, the applicant’s car with the remainder of merchandise was seized by the “MRT” customs authority. According to the applicant, an officer of the Moldovan police was present and did not interfere.
10.  On 6 February 2008 the Bender city court (an “MRT” court) found the applicant guilty of having committed the administrative offence of resistance to the customs officers. The applicant explained that he considered having been arrested on Moldovan territory (Varnița village) and not having seen any signs warning that he was about to cross into the territory under the “MRT” control. The court sentenced him to three days’ detention. According to the applicant, the hearing took place in Russian, a language which he understood only to a limited degree, and in the absence of a translator. He was refused the right to be assisted by a lawyer when preparing for the hearing, and a court-appointed lawyer was only present at the court hearing, not assisting him in any manner. The applicant was given neither a copy of the record of his arrest prior to its examination by the court, nor a copy of the court decision of 6 February 2008.
11.  The decision was enforced immediately and the applicant served all three days until the evening of 8 February 2008, when he was released. He could recover his car and merchandise at 11 p.m. on the same day.
12.  On 15 February 2008 the applicant lodged a summary appeal against the decision of the first-instance court, noting that he would submit a full appeal once he received a copy of the decision of 6 February 2008. At his request, on 17 March 2008 he obtained a copy of that decision.
13.  On 18 March 2008 the “MRT” Supreme Court quashed the lower court’s decision because of the failure to specify the exact place where the offence had been committed. The case was sent for re-examination by the lower court. The applicant was not informed of that decision. On 25 April 2008 the “MRT” Supreme Court accepted an extraordinary appeal lodged by the president of that court’s chair and decided that the case was to be re-examined by that court. The applicant was not informed of that decision.
14.  On 27 May 2008 the applicant received by fax a letter dated 12 May 2008 summoning him to the hearing of the “MRT” Supreme Court on 27 May 2008 at 10 a.m. Because of this late summoning he could not appear at the hearing. On the same day the court rejected the applicant’s appeal against the decision of 6 February 2008, finding that he had been arrested on the territory of the city of Bender after refusing to abide by orders of the “MRT” customs authority.
15.  On 6 February 2008 the applicant’s brother made a criminal complaint in the applicant’s name to various Moldovan authorities, including the Prosecutor General’s Office, about the applicant’s unlawful arrest by officers from the “MRT”. He asked for the criminal prosecution of those responsible.
16.  On 7 February 2008 the applicant’s brother sent a complaint about the applicant’s abduction by the “MRT” authorities to the embassies of several countries in Moldova, including that of the Russian Federation. On 11 February 2008 the applicant sent letters to various embassies, including that of the Russian Federation, thanking them for their intervention into the case by bringing the matter before the Joint Control Commission.[1] Following this alleged intervention the applicant’s car and merchandise were returned to him.
17.  On 28 February 2008 the Moldovan police station in Bender started a criminal investigation into the applicant’s abduction by “MRT” officers. Several witnesses confirmed that the applicant had been forcibly taken away in a car from near a bar in Varnița village and that two of the “MRT” officers were identified. In view of the Moldovan prosecuting authorities’ inability to effectively prosecute persons on the territory controlled of the “MRT”, on 28 August 2008, the investigation was suspended. On 30 May 2013 the investigation was resumed and was pending by the time of the last submissions made to the Court (December 2013). The parties did not inform the Court of any subsequent developments in that regard.