LIPARTIA AND BERDZENISHVILI v. GEORGIA

Communicated on 16 January 2019 FIFTH SECTIONApplication no. 54292/18Suliko LIPARTIA and Giorgi BERDZENISHVILIagainst Georgialodged on 8 November 2018SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASEThe application concerns the alleged unfairness of the criminal proceedings conducted against the applicants for armed robbery on account of their inability to examine the only direct witness, A.K. (victim of the offence) during the trial. They argue that the victim’s written and video statements as recorded by an investigator during the pre-trial investigation served as the decisive if not the sole evidence for their conviction. The applicants rely on Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (d) of the Convention.QUESTIONS tO THE PARTIESDid the applicants have a fair hearing in the determination of the criminal charges against them, in accordance with Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (d) of the Convention (see Al-Khawaja and Tahery v. the United …