5.  The applicant was born in 1962. He is serving a prison sentence in the Orenburg region.
6.  The applicant was head of the security service of the Yukos oil company.
7.  On 14 April 2005 the applicant, who had been found guilty of several counts of attempted murder and murder on 24 March 2005, was charged with the murder of Kr. and Fd. and the attempted murder of R., I. and Fl. On 4 July 2005 the applicant was charged with the murder of P. and the attempted murder of Kk. The charge sheet stated, in particular, that the applicant had entered into a criminal conspiracy with N. and other unidentified managers of the Menatep bank to murder Kr., R. and P. with whom the Yukos oil company had been in conflict for various reasons. The applicant had asked G. to find and hire hitmen to commit those murders. G. had hired Sh., Ts., Re., Go. and O. who had killed Kr. and P. and had committed several unsuccessful attempts to kill R. Fd., I., Fl. and Kk. had been collateral victims of their actions.
8.  According to the applicant, the investigation was completed on 5 July 2005.
9.  On 5 July 2005 a Deputy Prosecutor General K., gave an interview to two major Russian channels, the NTV and the First Channel. The interview was broadcasted in their news programmes of the same date. K. said, in particular:
“N., a member of the Committee of Directors of the Yukos oil company and the first deputy president of that oil company, [the applicant], the head of the 4th division of the internal and financial security service of that oil company, and other still unidentified persons among the employees of that oil company founded a criminal gang for committing criminal offences in their personal and other interests. In 1998 [the applicant], upon instructions from N. and other employees of the Yukos oil company ..., organised the murder of the head of the Nefteyugansk Town Council P[.] ... For that purposes [the applicant] involved G., Go., Sh., Re. and Ts. ...”
“[The applicant], upon instructions from N. and other unidentified persons from among the managers of the Menatep bank, organised the murder of the director of the Fenix company Kr[.] who had acted contrary to their interests ...”.
10.  The applicant lodged a complaint with the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow. He complained that the prosecutor’s statements had encouraged the public to believe him guilty and prejudged the assessment of the facts by the competent court. They therefore had breached his presumption of innocence. The applicant also stated that he had wished to ask for a trial by jury but had had to renounce his wish for fear that the jurors might be influenced by the prosecutor’s statements to the press.
11.  On 10 July 2007 the District Court rejected the applicant’s complaint, finding that the applicant had been charged with many counts of murder and attempted murder. In his statements to the press K. had related the facts as established by the investigation and confirmed by the materials in the criminal case file. He had acted lawfully and had not breached the applicant’s rights.
12.  On 16 October 2007 the Moscow City Court upheld the judgment of 10 July 2007 on appeal.
13.  On 11 September 2005 the TVC Channel broadcasted an interview with B., a lead investigator of the Prosecutor General’s office in charge of the applicant’s case. B. said, in particular:
“B.: At present we have already completed the investigation into several more episodes of the criminal activities of the Yukos oil company. [The applicant], the former head of the internal financial security service, has been charged with six [counts of murder]... The crimes were organised by, among others, N. ... In fact, N. organised and financed all these crimes.
The presenter: Does it mean that P. was killed by the same gang that had committed other murders? B.: This gang was founded by [the applicant] on the instructions from N.. Yes, this was proved. It was financed by N.”
14.  The applicant lodged a complaint with the Basmannyy District Court of Moscow. He complained that B.’s statements had breached his presumption of innocence.
15.  On 11 January 2006 the District Court rejected the applicant’s complaint. It found that B. had orally expressed his personal opinion about the applicant’s guilt in his interview to the press. His statements were not contained in an official document issued in the framework of the criminal proceedings. There was no reason to believe that B.’s opinion had breached the applicant’s constitutional rights or had undermined the fairness of his forthcoming trial.
16.  On 6 March 2006 the City Court upheld the judgment on appeal.
17.  On 20 March 2006 the City Court held a preliminary hearing of the applicant’s case.
18.  On 17 August 2006 the City Court convicted the applicant and his co-defendants Sh., Ts., Re. and O. of the murder of Kr., P. and Fd. and the attempted murder of R., I. and Fl. It acquitted the applicant of the attempted murder of Kk. The applicant was sentenced to twenty-one years’ imprisonment.
19.  On 21 February 2007 the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation upheld the conviction in respect of the applicant’s co-defendants. It quashed the applicant’s conviction and remitted the case for a retrial before another judge of the City Court.
20.  The second trial started on 17 April 2007. During the hearing the court examined a handwritten note containing R.’s address in Vienna. That note had been found among the personal belongings of the late G. who, according to witness statements, had been an intermediary between the applicant, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, Ts. and Re. who had committed the two attempts on R.’s life.
21.  The Court also examined the expert reports of 24 December 2003 and 7 October 2004, ordered by the investigator. In the report of 24 December 2003 the experts found that it could not be excluded that the note had been written by the applicant. It was however not possible to make any firm conclusions about the author of the note for the lack of comparative material. In the report of 7 October 2004 the experts found, after having examined additional samples of the applicant’s handwriting, that the note in question had been written by him. When questioned in court, the experts confirmed their findings.
22.  The applicant submitted to the court a “specialist” opinion of 4 July 2004 by V. According to V., the samples of the applicant’s handwriting submitted for comparative analysis were insufficient to make any firm conclusions as to whether he was the author of the note. V. confirmed her findings when questioned in court.
23.  Referring to the “specialist” opinion of 4 July 2004, the applicant asked for a new handwriting expert opinion and submitted a list of questions to be put to the experts. The court refused the request, finding that the case file already contained two expert opinions and a “specialist” opinion and that there was no need for an additional expert examination of the note. The court refused to admit the “specialist” opinion as evidence noting that it contained only “a value judgment” in respect of the experts’ findings.
24.  On 6 August 2007 the City Court found the applicant guilty of the murder of Kr., P. and Fd. and the attempted murder of R., I. and Fl. and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
25.  As regards the attempted murder of R., the court relied, inter alia, on the expert opinion of 7 October 2004, finding that the applicant had been the author of the handwritten note containing R.’s address. It declared the specialist opinion of 4 July 2004 inadmissible as evidence because V. had not been appointed as a forensic expert and did not therefore have any procedural status.
26.  On 31 January 2008 the Supreme Court upheld the applicant’s conviction on appeal.