6.  The applicant was born in 1957 and lives in Yerevan.
7.  The applicant is an ethnic Armenian who was born and raised in Iran and who subsequently went to live in Armenia.
8.  On 19 February 2008 a presidential election was held in Armenia. The subsequent protest rallies were eventually terminated on 1 March 2008 following intervention by the police, which resulted in clashes between protesters and law-enforcement officers and numerous arrests.
9.  On 1 March 2008 the applicant, who was apparently near the main rally location around the time of the police intervention, was taken to a police station on suspicion of assaulting a police officer. It appears that when asked for his identity at the police station, the applicant introduced himself as Vardges Gasparyan.
10.  In the applicant’s arrest record drawn up on 2 March 2008 his name was indicated as both Vartgez Gaspari and Vardges Gasparyan.
11.  In a note dated 3 March 2008 the investigator stated that the applicant’s wife had presented his passport and that the information provided by the applicant about his identity did not correspond to the information contained in his passport.
12.  On 5 March 2008 the applicant was formally charged and brought before the Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeytun District Court of Yerevan. The court examined an application lodged by the investigator for the applicant’s pre-trial detention for a period of two months on the grounds that, if he remained at large, he could abscond, obstruct the course of justice, commit another offence and evade criminal responsibility.
13.  The applicant submitted before the District Court that the application was unsubstantiated. He had a higher education, was married, was head of a company, had a minor child dependent on him and had no previous convictions. The imputed acts fell into the category of offences of medium gravity and it had not been substantiated that if he remained at large, he would evade criminal responsibility.
14.  The District Court decided to allow the investigator’s application, taking into account the dangerousness of the imputed offence and the fact that if the applicant remained at large, he could abscond, obstruct the proceedings, commit another offence and influence witnesses.
15.  On 11 March 2008 the applicant lodged an appeal, arguing that there was no evidence suggesting that if he remained at large, he would abscond, obstruct the course of justice, unlawfully influence witnesses, commit another offence or evade criminal responsibility. He was a respected and trusted person in the society, was known to be of good character, had a permanent place of residence and a minor child dependent on him, and had always respected the law.
16.  On 20 March 2008 the Criminal Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant’s appeal. The Court of Appeal stated that it followed from the case file that after having been brought to the police station, the applicant had introduced himself as Vardges Gasparyan instead of Vartgez Gaspari, thereby providing false information about his identity. His real name was discovered only after his passport had been presented. This provided sufficient grounds to believe that if the applicant remained at large, he could abscond, falsify or conceal evidence and obstruct the investigation by failing to appear when summoned by the authority conducting the criminal proceedings.
17.  On 23 April 2008 the Kentron and Nork-Marash District Court of Yerevan decided to set the case down for trial and to keep the applicant in detention.
18.  On 14 May, 17 June, 17 July and 5 August 2008 the applicant applied to the District Court for his release.
19.  The District Court dismissed the applications of 14 May and 17 June, finding that the grounds for the applicant’s detention still persisted. It adjourned the examination of the applications of 17 July and 5 August until circumstances necessary for a decision to be taken had been clarified.
20.  At the hearing of 23 September 2008, the applicant once again urged the court to release him and asked it to reason its decision. The presiding judge refused to take a decision, stating that it had already been decided on 17 July to adjourn that question. It appears that an argument erupted between, on the one hand, the applicant and his lawyer, who insisted that the judge take a decision on the applicant’s request or otherwise withdraw from the case, and on the other hand, the judge and the prosecutor, who objected to the demand that the judge withdraw. The applicant then wanted to leave the courtroom in protest against the allegedly unlawful actions of the judge. The judge decided to penalise the applicant by removing him from the courtroom on the grounds that he was obstructing the normal course of the hearing, abusing his procedural rights and disrespectfully refusing to follow the judge’s orders. The hearing was adjourned until 29 September 2008.
21.  At the hearing of 29 September 2008, the presiding judge refused to grant the applicant’s lawyer permission to lodge an application for release. Thereafter the applicant declared that he wished to lodge a challenge to the judge. In response, the judge decided once again to penalise the applicant on the same grounds as previously, by removing him from the courtroom and adjourning the hearing until 3 October 2008.
22.  On 22 October 2008 the applicant lodged another application, seeking to be released on bail. It appears that no decision was taken on that application.
23.  On 10 November 2008 the Kentron and Nork-Marash District Court of Yerevan found the applicant guilty as charged and sentenced him to one year’s imprisonment. The beginning of his sentence was to be calculated from 2 March 2008. The periods from 23 to 29 September and from 29 September to 3 October 2008, during which the court hearings were adjourned because of the applicant’s removal from the courtroom, were not to be calculated as part of his sentence, pursuant to Article 314.1 § 6 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP).
24.  On 27 February 2009 the Criminal Court of Appeal, taking into account that Article 314.1 § 6 of the CCP had been amended in the meantime (see paragraph 35 below) and as a consequence the periods during which the trial court hearings had been adjourned were to be calculated as part of the applicant’s sentence, decided to release him on the grounds that he had already served his one-year sentence.
25.  Between 6 March and 23 December 2008 the applicant was kept at Nubarashen Remand Prison.
26.  From 6 to 7 March 2008 the applicant was held in cell no. 9, which measured about 20 by 25 sq. m and accommodated seven to eight inmates. The cell was located in a semi-basement and was very damp and unsanitary. The air was stale, as the only source of ventilation was a window measuring one square metre and facing a pit filled with several centimetres of rubbish and frequented by rats. In the evening the toilet situated in the corner of the cell became clogged and sewage from the upper floors flooded the entire cell floor. The inmates’ appeals to the prison guards produced no results and they were allowed only to direct the flood towards the corridor. The applicant addressed a letter to the head of the remand prison, complaining about the unsanitary conditions in the cell and, in particular, the flooding, and requested that measures be taken.
27.  At noon on 7 March the applicant was transferred to cell no. 29, which measured about 20 by 25 sq. m and accommodated about ten inmates. While in that cell, the applicant declared a hunger strike in protest against alleged human-rights violations in Armenia.
28.  At around 2 p.m. on the same date the applicant was transferred to cell no. 4, where he was kept until 14 March 2008. He shared the cell with another hunger striker. The cell measured about 20 sq. m and was again situated in the detention facility’s semi-basement. The conditions were allegedly unsanitary, the air was damp and it stank of sewage. The only window to the basement cell, measuring 1 sq. m, had a pit in front of it which prevented natural light from entering the cell. No out-of-cell activities were allowed.
29.  From 14 to 20 March 2008 the applicant was kept in cell no. 79, which measured 20 sq. m. The cell was relatively calm and ventilated.
30.  From 20 March to 15 April 2008 the applicant was kept in cell no. 20, which measured about 20 sq. m and accommodated ten to twelve inmates. Almost all of his cell-mates smoked. Being a non-smoker, he felt asphyxiated and his eyes watered continuously. The television was switched on twenty-four hours a day, which disrupted his sleep. On 15 April 2008 the toilet became clogged and the cell floor flooded with sewage from the upper floors. The applicant complained and was transferred to cell no. 42 on the next floor.
31.  From 15 April to 4 September 2008 the applicant was kept in cell no. 42, which measured about 25 sq. m and accommodated up to fourteen inmates. The cell had only eight beds, so the inmates had to sleep in turns. There was a serious lack of fresh air, since almost all of his cell-mates smoked. The sanitary conditions were relatively satisfactory.
32.  From 4 September to 23 December 2008 the applicant was kept in cell no. 10, which measured about 12 sq. m and accommodated three to four inmates.