§§ 50 - 51, 21 June 2007; Andrey Frolov v. Russia, No. 205/02, §§ 47 - 49, 29 March 2007; Labzov v. Russia, No. 62208/00, § 44, 16 June 2005; and Mayzit v. Russia, No. 63378/00, § 40, 20 January 2005).
57. As regards the Government's submission that the overcrowding was due to objective reasons and that the facility officials could not be held liable for it, the Court reiterates that even if there had been no fault on the part of the facility officials, the Contracting Parties are answerable under the Convention for the acts of any State agency, since what is in issue in all cases before the Court is the international responsibility of the State (see Lukanov v. Bulgaria, 20 March 1997, § 40, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1997-II). Whether overpopulation was due to maintenance works or to other causes is immaterial for the Court's analysis, it being incumbent on the respondent State to organise its penitentiary system in such a way as to ensure respect for the dignity of detainees, regardless of financial or logistical difficulties (see Mamedova v. Russia, No. 7064/05, § 63, 1 June 2006).
58. The foregoing considerations are sufficient to enable the Court to conclude that the conditions of the applicant's detention from 24 November 2003 to 8 December 2004 were inhuman and degrading.
59. In view of the above findings, the Court does not consider it necessary to establish the truthfulness of the remaining allegations made by the applicant.
60. There has accordingly been a violation of Article 3 of the Convention.
II. Alleged violations of Article 6 of the Convention
61. The applicant complained that he had not been afforded an effective opportunity to examine S. in relation to two theft charges. He also contended that the reading-out of S.'s pre-trial incriminating statement and its admission in evidence had been unlawful. He relied on Article 6 of the Convention, which, in its relevant parts, reads as follows:
"1. In the determination of...any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fair... hearing...
3. Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following minimum rights:
...
(d) to examine or have examined witnesses against him and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him..."
A. Admissibility
62. The Court considers that this part of the application is not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 of the Convention. It further notes that it is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must therefore be declared admissible.
B. Merits
1. The parties' submissions
63. The applicant alleged the face-to-face confrontation could not be considered as an effective opportunity to examine S. since the applicant's lawyer had not been given notice to attend. The applicant affirmed that he had refused to sign the record. Furthermore, the authorities had not taken reasonable steps to secure S.'s presence at the trial. The Government had provided no evidence to prove that any summons had been issued or measures taken. According to the applicant, S. had incriminated the applicant in exchange for release from custody. Moreover, S.'s testimony was unreliable since he had changed his deposition several times before the trial, in particular regarding the identity and number of persons involved in the thefts. In view of the above, the trial court's reliance on S.'s pre-trial statement in finding the applicant guilty on two counts of theft had been unlawful and in breach of the presumption of innocence.
64. The Government submitted that during the preliminary investigation S. and the applicant had had a face-to-face confrontation at which the applic
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