CCPR/C/125/D/2313/2013 Code allows for pretrial detention only in those cases where the maximum penalty for the crime exceeds three years in prison, 11 while he was charged only with fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison. Moreover, with regard to economic crimes, which includes fraud, suspects cannot be arrested at all.12 The author also claims that he was not informed of any charges against him and was not given a copy of the Pervomaisky district court’s decision of 6 June 2009 sanctioning his detention for two months, hence denying him the right to appeal it until 8 July. 3.3 The author claims that between 4 June and 22 June 2009 he was held incommunicado and in prison conditions that constituted a violation of article 10 of the Covenant. 3.4 Finally, he claims that his rights under article 14 of the Covenant were violated as: (a) the courts were not impartial and ignored his alibi, and there were numerous pretrial procedural violations and a lack of direct evidence tying him to the alleged crimes; (b) the court proceedings were unnecessarily prolonged for over a year, during which he was under house arrest; (c) he was denied legal assistance until 26 June 2009 despite having requested it from the time of his initial interrogation on 4 June. State party’s observations on the merits 4.1 In a note verbale dated 17 February 2014, the State party noted that, at the time of the events in question, the Constitution of Kyrgyzstan allowed for a 48-hour detention period before a person had to be brought before a judge. The author therefore was brought before a judge at the Pervomaisky district court within the legally required time limit. 4.2 With regard to the author’s arrest, the State party notes that the author has misinterpreted article 110 of the Criminal Procedure Code and that suspects in economic crimes can be detained unless they post bail prescribed by the law. However, based on the documents submitted by the author, it is unclear to the State party if such bail was posted. The State party notes that, in exceptional cases, article 110 of the Criminal Procedure Code allows for the arrest of suspects charged with crimes that carry a maximum penalty of up to three years in prison if one of the following circumstances is present in the case: the suspect does not have a permanent place of residence; or his/her identity has not been established; or he/she has been hiding from law enforcement authorities or courts. 4.3 The State party further submits that, in accordance with the Constitution of Kyrgyzstan and international treaties signed by the State party, everyone has the right to a review of their sentence by a higher court. It notes that, in the present case, the author has gone through all instances of the domestic judicial system and has exhausted all available legal remedies. The State party further notes that if the author believes that his rights protected by the Constitution have been violated by a domestic law, he can petition the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of the Kyrgyz Republic to review the constitutionality of the particular law. Author’s comments on the State party’s observations 5.1 In a letter of 2 May 2014, the author responded to the observations of the State party. He notes that, at the time of his arrest on 6 June 2009, article 110 of the Criminal Procedure Code provided a blanket prohibition of arrest for crimes carrying a potential sentence of up to three years in prison. The possibility of bail was introduced by an amendment of 7 August 2009. 5.2 The author submits that, although it is stated in the 6 June 2009 decision of the Pervomaisky district court sanctioning his arrest that he had a lawyer at the hearing, no lawyer or prosecutor was present at the time. The author notes that he was not given a copy of the Pervomaisky district court’s decision or the prosecutor’s decision officially charging him with crimes, in violation of domestic law. These violations were raised by the author 11 12 4 Article 110, paragraph 1, of the Criminal Procedure Code of Kyrgyzstan. Ibid.