MOSCOW, May 24 (RAPSI) – The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday that the rights of Russian national Fail Sadretdinov, who was tried and acquitted of organizing the murder of Paul Khlebnikov, the founding editor of the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, have been violated in part.

Moscow resident Sadretdinov, born in 1969, has turned to the ECHR over alleged violation of his rights related to conditions of detention and medical treatment for epilepsy.

Sadretdinov was arrested in May 2005 and put in jail. His detention was repeatedly extended because of the gravity of charges against him and possibility of his absconding and obstructing justice. He was acquitted in May 2006 and immediately released. Shortly after, he was arrested again on charges of aggravated fraud, abuse of position and property laundering. He was convicted in January 2007 and sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment, subsequently reduced to eight years’ imprisonment. In 2011, he was released on parole.

In his application lodged with the ECHR Sadretdinov alleged that his rights were violated under Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”). He complained about the appalling conditions of his detention between January and February 2006, notably on account of overcrowding and lack of hygiene, and the inadequate medical care.

Moreover, he insisted that Article 5.3 (right to liberty and security / entitlement to trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial) and Article 5.4 (right to have lawfulness of detention decided speedily by a court) have been violated as well. According to Sadretdinov, the length of his pretrial detention was unjustifiably excessive and that his appeals against his jail were not considered by court.

As Russia had admitted violation of Articles 3 and 5.3 of the Convention concerning the inhuman and degrading conditions of Sadretdinov’s detention in Moscow from 31 January to 7 February 2006; the lack of relevant and sufficient reasons for his detention between 11 May 2006 and 31 January 2007 and paid out EUR 4,400 in compensation, the ECHR decided to strike these counts out of its list of cases.

However, the ECHR held that Article 3 of the Convention in relation to the lack of adequate medical assistance in detention, Article 5.3 of the Convention on account of the applicant’s detention between 24 May 2005 and 6 May 2006 and Article 5.4 had been violated; and ordered Russia to pay Sadretdinov EUR 3,150.

Editor in chief of Forbes Russia magazine, Paul Klebnikov, 41, was shot dead on July 9, 2004. Two natives of Chechnya, Musa Vakhayev and Kazbek Dukuzov, were tried in this case along with Moscow notary Fail Sadretdinov. In May 2006, they were acquitted by jury and released. Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office appealed the ruling. In November 2006, the Supreme Court of Russia overturned the acquitting judgment. Sadretdinov was finally acquitted in this case in April 2008.