“1. On 16 July 1985, at around 4 a.m., two individuals, in a metallic grey camper with horizontal trim on the sides and rear and with a registration beginning with the letter A, arrived at the JM club, located in Grao de Gandía, and, after preparing a Molotov cocktail, threw it into the club, breaking several panes of glass above the door, then immediately fled the scene, having thereby started a fire in the premises. setting the fire. They protest that the identification parade was not conducted in accordance with the law. They complain that the judge did not intervene when it became clear that the legal aid lawyer was not defending them properly. Moreover, by refusing to allow Michael Hill to conduct his own defence and to call a witness on their behalf, the judge violated the principle of equality of the parties. It is submitted that the use by the police investigating unit and the judge of Michael Hill’s prior criminal record was unjust and prejudicial not only to Michael but also to Brian Hill. “2. the police. An eyewitness to the incident called “3. The police arrived at the scene, together with the fire brigade, and, after listening to the eyewitness, located the camper, registration A811 JAB, inside which they discovered a partlyempty plastic container with some four litres of petrol, and arrested the occupants of the camper, Messrs. Brian and Michael Hill. 4.2 As to article 14, paragraph 2, the authors claim that this principle was violated before, during and after the trial: before the trial, because of the judicial authorities’ repeated refusal to grant bail; during the trial, when the judge told Michael Hill that he would have the opportunity on appeal to defend himself and to call a witness for the defence; and immediately after the trial, before the verdict had been pronounced, when the legal aid lawyer started to negotiate with their father about the handling of the appeal. “4. In the presence of an interpreter, the detainees were immediately informed of their rights. “5. In the presence of the interpreter and with the assistance, at their request, of the legal aid lawyer on duty, the detainees made a statement to the police. They said that they had been in the club in the early hours of the day on which they were making their statement and had drunk 5 or 6 beers there before leaving at around 2.30 a.m. They admitted that the camper and the petrol container belonged to them, but denied having started the fire, acknowledging that ‘they had in fact passed close by (the club) in the vehicle’ after leaving the premises. 4.3 The authors claim that the lack of cooperation by the Spanish authorities, as a result of which they themselves had to translate every single document with the help of other, bilingual prisoners, the lack of information in prison on Spanish legislation and the lack of competent interpreters during the interrogation by the police and during the preliminary hearing, together with the inadequate conduct of the defence by the State-appointed lawyer, amount to a violation of article 14, paragraph 3 (b), of the Covenant. “6. During the identification parade, the police showed several persons to the eyewitness, and the said eyewitness recognized Messrs. Hill as ‘the persons who had set fire to the JM club the previous night by throwing a flaming bottle against its door, and who had fled in a large camper with a foreign registration’.” 4.4 Article 14, paragraph 3 (d), is said to have been violated in Michael Hill’s case because, during the trial, he was twice denied the right to defend himself in person. As a consequence, article 14, paragraph 3 (e), was also violated, as he was also denied the opportunity to examine a witness on the brother’s behalf who was waiting outside the courtroom. 5.3 Concerning the examining magistrate: appearance before the “1. On 17 July 1985, the day after the incident occurred, the Hill brothers testified before the examining magistrate at Gandía, assisted by the legal aid lawyer on duty, reiterating the statement they had made to the police the day before. State party’s information and observations 5.1 In its statement of 11 April 1993, the State party argues that the authors abused the right of submission and that the communication should be declared inadmissible in accordance with article 3 of the Optional Protocol. From the information provided by the State party, including the texts of judgments and other documents, it appears that the latter raises no objection with respect to the exhaustion of domestic remedies. “2. Magistrate No. 1 ordered that various proceedings be conducted including an appraisal of the damage caused, which amounted to 1,935,000 pesetas. The other parties who had appeared before the police, including the eyewitness, reiterated their statements. “3. On 19 July, Magistrate No. 1 of Gandía issued an order to institute criminal proceedings against the Hill brothers for the crime of arson, ordering them to be imprisoned and bail to be set. 5.2 The State party summarizes the situation in the case as follows: “4. Further statements by the accused, an additional police file containing photographs Concerning the detention: 42