6.  The applicants were born in 1947 and 1971 and live in Skopje. The first applicant is the father of the second applicant.
7.  The first applicant was arrested on 23 December 2010. The second applicant was arrested on the next day.
8.  On 24 December 2010 the applicants were brought before an investigating judge of the Skopje Court of First Instance (Основен суд Скопје, “the trial court”). On the same day the investigating judge opened an investigation in respect of twenty people, including the applicants, on suspicion of criminal conspiracy (злосторничко здружување) and tax evasion (даночно затајување). It was alleged that the first applicant had conspired to create an organised group for the commission of various criminal offences through a network of companies founded and owned by the suspects.
9.  At the same time the investigating judge ordered that nineteen of the suspects, including the applicants, be held in pre-trial detention for thirty days. The order also applied to five suspects who were still at large, including H.R., the son of the first applicant and brother of the second applicant. The order was based on all three grounds specified in section 199(1) of the Criminal Proceedings Act (Закон за кривичната постапка, Official Gazette no. 15/2005 – “the Act”), namely a risk of the suspects absconding, reoffending and interfering with the investigation. As to the risk of absconding, the judge took into account the statements of the suspects, including the fact that some of them had decided to remain silent, the gravity of the charges and the severity of the anticipated penalty, and concluded that there was a risk of the suspects absconding if they were released. Detaining the suspects on the grounds of the risk of their reoffending was justified by the fact that most of them held managerial posts in companies implicated in the criminal proceedings and had authority to sign business accounts and other financial documents. The judge further held that special circumstances (особени околности) suggested that if released, the suspects might interfere with the investigation by influencing prosecution witnesses who were to be examined by the investigating judge. The preparation of a financial expert report was also ordered.
10.  On 21 January 2011 a three-judge panel of the trial court set up under section 22(6) of the Act (see paragraph 33 below) ordered a thirty-day extension of the pre-trial detention of the applicants and twelve other suspects on all three grounds specified under the Act. As to the risk of their absconding, the panel reasoned as follows:
“The material and verbal evidence adduced so far corroborates the reasonable suspicion that the defendants have committed the crimes of which they are suspected. Having regard to the nature, character and type of offences that are being investigated, as well as the gravity of the charges, the level of criminal responsibility, the anticipated penalty ... the panel considers that there is a real risk of flight if the defendants are released ... The risk of flight is further reinforced by the financial circumstances of the defendants, given the fact that most of them do not have immovable property in their name ... The panel has taken into consideration the fact that most of the defendants have families and that they are parents, as well as that [some of the defendants, including Ms E. Ramkovska] have immovable property in their name, but these circumstances do not eliminate the risk of the defendants absconding and are insufficient to secure their attendance at the pre-trial proceedings.”
11.  The panel also considered that, if released, the suspects might interfere with the investigation. In this connection, it took note of the fact that the examination of prosecution witnesses had been scheduled for 21, 25 and 31 January 2011. The fact that some of the suspects (but not the applicants) had decided to remain silent was considered by the panel as a factor that heightened the risk of interference with the investigation.
12.  As regards the risk of reoffending, the panel took into account that the applicants were suspected of being part of an organised group that had been operating over a prolonged period of time, with assigned roles in business structures of already existing companies or companies which the suspects aimed to establish with a view to making unlawful gains. The fact that the suspects still held the same posts in the companies implicated in the criminal proceedings implied a risk of reoffending, if they were released.
13.  On 26 January 2011 the applicants lodged appeals complaining that the three-judge panel had not given concrete reasons to justify their pre-trial detention. They argued that the panel had not provided sufficient reasons to justify detaining them on grounds of the risk of their reoffending, and that the risk of interference with the investigation had not been substantiated since nearly all the evidence had already been gathered. The fact that some of the other suspects had decided to remain silent could not serve as basis for extending their pre-trial detention. The applicants also submitted that they did not have a previous criminal record; they had not resisted arrest and had behaved in an exemplary manner during their detention. Both of them had families and possessions in the respondent State. The second applicant was a mother of three minor children. They sought release and replacement of the detention order with a more lenient measure, such as house arrest.
14.  On 4 February 2011 the Skopje Court of Appeal (Апелационен суд Скопје, “the Court of Appeal”) dismissed the appeals of the applicants and the other suspects and upheld the court order. As regards the risk of interference with the investigation, the Court of Appeal held that the investigation had not yet been completed and the examination of the witnesses was ongoing. The court relied on the gravity of the charges and the severity of the penalty to justify detaining them on the grounds of the risk of their absconding. As to the risk of reoffending, the Court of Appeal reiterated the panel’s finding that the suspects were being investigated for acting as an organised group over a prolonged period of time, through a network of companies founded at home and abroad, with a view to making unlawful gains.
15.  On 21 February 2011 a three-judge panel of the trial court ordered another thirty-day extension of the pre-trial detention of the applicants and nine other suspects. The panel used identical wording to justify detaining them on the grounds of the risk of the suspects absconding, reoffending and interfering with the investigation. Additionally, the panel took into consideration the fact that the investigation had been extended to include additional criminal offences. Thus additional evidence, including the examination of two witnesses – M.N. and R.D. as representatives of certain companies – was yet to be secured.
16.  On 4 March 2011 the Court of Appeal dismissed appeals lodged by the applicants and the other suspects. It upheld the panel’s decision and its reasoning justifying further extension of the applicants’ pre-trial detention.
17.  On 22 March 2011 the applicants and the other suspects were indicted before the trial court. Both applicants were charged with money laundering, criminal conspiracy and tax evasion. The first applicant was further charged with abuse of office.
18.  On the same day a three-judge panel of the trial court ordered another thirty-day extension of the pre-trial detention of the applicants and other accused. The extension was ordered on grounds of the risk of the accused absconding and reoffending. The panel provided the following reasoning:
“The material and verbal evidence adduced so far corroborates the high degree of reasonable suspicion that the accused have committed the crimes with which they are charged. Having regard to the nature, character and type of offences with which the accused are charged under the indictment; given that the accused committed the criminal offences as a well-organised and compact group consisting of organisers and members with assigned roles in taking the incriminated actions they are suspected of; having regard to the degree of danger for society and criminal responsibility; having regard to the type and severity of the anticipated penalty for the type of offences of which the accused are suspected, including the possibility of an effective prison sentence, the panel considers that there is a real risk of flight if the accused are released ... The risk of flight is increased if the behaviour of H.R., N.R., R.I. and R.C [other accused] is taken into consideration given that they remain unavailable to the law-enforcement authorities ...
In the assessment of the risk of reoffending as a ground warranting further extension of the pre-trial detention, the panel took into account the nature and type of the offences with which the accused were charged ... and the fact that the defendants are accused of acting as a well-organised group, consisting of organisers and members, with assigned roles in the business structures of several companies, that acted over a prolonged period of time. The risk of reoffending is reinforced due to the circumstance that some of the criminal offences were committed as continuous crimes, which underlines the nature and character [of the accused], as well as their susceptibility to carry out criminal activities of this type over a prolonged period of time. The fact that the majority of the accused still occupy the same posts in the companies involved in the criminal proceedings, from which they took the incriminated actions of which they are accused in the criminal proceedings at hand, generates a risk of reoffending if the accused are released ...”
19.  On 28 March 2011 the applicants lodged appeals complaining that the court order violated their rights under Article 5 of the Convention, in that it did not provide concrete reasons for their detention. They argued that the panel had essentially issued a collective detention order, using identical wording and standardised phrases without specifying any particular reason concerning the applicants’ personal character that would justify their pre-trial detention. They also argued that the wording used by the panel was in violation of the principle of presumption of innocence guaranteed under Article 6 § 2 of the Convention.
20.  On 11 April 2011 the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals of the applicants and the other accused. It relied on the gravity of the charges and the severity of the anticipated penalty as circumstances warranting further extension of the pre-trial detention of the applicants and the other accused. With regard to the risk of reoffending, the Court of Appeal took note of the fact that the defendants were accused of acting as an organised group over a prolonged period of time, with pre-defined roles, using the established business structure of companies in the respondent State and abroad.
21.  On 21 April 2011 a three-judge panel of the trial court ordered another thirty-day extension of the pre-trial detention of the applicants and other accused on the grounds that they might abscond and reoffend. It provided the same reasons as before.
22.  On 29 April 2011 the applicants appealed against the panel’s decision before the Court of Appeal.
23.  On 10 May 2011 the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals of the applicants and the other accused, providing the same reasoning as before.
24.  On 13 May 2011 that decision was served on the first applicant in prison. On the same day the applicants’ lawyer inspected the case file in the trial court.
25.  In the meantime, the applicants unsuccessfully applied for release on several occasions. On 10 May 2011 a three-judge panel of the trial court dismissed an application for release submitted by the second applicant. It also removed the risk of reoffending from the list of grounds justifying the second applicant’s pre-trial detention.
26.  In the course of the proceedings the applicants’ pre-trial detention was continuously extended until their conviction by the trial court. The first applicant’s detention was extended on the grounds that he might abscond and reoffend. After 10 May 2011 the second applicant’s detention was extended solely on grounds that she might abscond.
27.  On 14 March 2012 the trial court convicted the applicants as charged. The court further decided that they would remain in custody until the judgment became final.
28.  On 25 February 2013 the Court of Appeal upheld the applicants’ conviction. The applicants have started to serve their prison sentences.
29.  In their observations the Government informed the Court about an article published on 19 November 2014 on an internet portal called Prizma-Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) entitled “The Government offered settlement – Ramkovski declined, he will wait for Strasbourg” (“Владата понудила спогодба – Рамковски ја одбил, ќе го чека Стразбур”). In the article the journalist wrote about the factual background of the case, the complaints communicated to the Government and the questions asked by the Court. It included a link to the statement of facts and the Court’s questions sent to the parties.
30.  The caption under the title of the article read as follows:
“The State offered a settlement to Velija Ramkovski – compensation for the long pre-trial detention and violation of the presumption of innocence in the ‘spider web’ affair, in relation to which he has complained before the European Court [of Human Rights] – but he refused. Faced with the fact that the State will lose the case, the Government will change the legal provisions concerning pre-trial detention.”
31.  The last part of the article was entitled “Ramkovski refuses settlement, the Government changes the law” (“Рамковски одбива спогодба, Владата го менува законот”). The article went on to say:
“After the Court asked the questions, the State offered a settlement, Velija Ramkovski’s defence team confirmed for BIRN. A settlement between the parties for payment of compensation is allowed by the statute of the Court. However it was not acceptable to Ramkovski.
- I met with Velija Ramkovski in prison, I gave him the message from the State about a settlement, but he refused. He has decided to wait for the Court in Strasbourg to find violations in his case with a judgment – confirmed for BIRN a member of Ramkovski’s legal defence team who is representing him before the domestic courts.
The State confirmed that they have been contacted by the Court in Strasbourg and also confirmed the credibility of the documents in BIRN’s possession.
- The Government agent and the Bureau for representation of the State before the Court in Strasbourg are preparing the observations to be sent to the Court by the end of November – said the Government agent, Kostadin Bogdanov.
He says that in the meantime they have contacted the parties by telephone and have offered them a settlement. However, they have received no response yet and they are required to submit their observations to the Court within several days.
...”
32.  After it had been published on the Prizma-BIRN internet portal, information about the settlement offer had appeared on several other internet portals.