case the authorities never considered the possibility of ensuring the applicants' attendance by the use of a more lenient preventive measure.
86. The Court has frequently found a violation of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention in Russian cases where the domestic courts extended an applicant's detention relying essentially on the gravity of the charges and using stereotyped formulae without addressing specific facts or considering alternative preventive measures (see Belevitskiy v. Russia, No. 72967/01, §§ 99 et seq., 1 March 2007; Khudobin v. Russia, No. 59696/00, §§ 103 et seq., ECHR 2006-XII; Mamedova v. Russia, No. 7064/05, §§ 72 et seq., 1 June 2006; Dolgova, cited above, §§ 38 et seq.; Khudoyorov v. Russia, No. 6847/02, §§ 172 et seq., ECHR 2005-X; Rokhlina, cited above, §§ 63 et seq.; Panchenko, cited above, §§ 91 et seq.; and Smirnova v. Russia, Nos. 46133/99 and 48183/99, §§ 56 et seq., ECHR 2003-IX).
87. Having regard to the above, the Court considers that by failing to address specific facts or consider alternative "preventive measures" and by relying essentially on the gravity of the charges, the authorities extended the applicants' detention on grounds which, although "relevant", cannot be regarded as "sufficient" to justify its duration. In these circumstances it is not necessary to examine whether the proceedings were conducted with "special diligence".
88. There has accordingly been a violation of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention.
III. Alleged violation of Article 5 § 4 of the Convention
89. The applicants complained under Article 5 § 4 that they had not been able to obtain a judicial review of the lawfulness of their detention, in breach of Article 5 § 4, which provides as follows:
"4. Everyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take proceedings by which the lawfulness of his detention shall be decided speedily by a court and his release ordered if the detention is not lawful."
A. Submissions by the parties
90. The applicants submitted that their complaints and requests for release pending trial lodged with the District Court had not been examined by the authorities.
91. The Government submitted that the applicants' complaints and requests for release pending trial had not been examined by the courts because from 11 October 2000 to 20 February 2001 the examination of the applicants' case had been adjourned owing to the need to obtain additional evidence. They further contended that the applicants had not lodged any requests for release during the hearing of 11 October 2000 and the hearings conducted between 20 February and 2 March 2001.
B. The Court's assessment
(a) Admissibility
92. The Court notes that this complaint 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
93. The Court reiterates that Article 5 § 4, in guaranteeing to persons who have been arrested or detained a right to take proceedings to challenge the lawfulness of their detention, also proclaims their right, following the institution of such proceedings, to a speedy judicial decision concerning the lawfulness of that detention and ordering its termination if it proves unlawful (see Rokhlina, cited above, § 74).
94. It is essential that the person concerned should have access to a court and the opportunity to be heard either in person or, where necessary, through some form of representation, failing which he will not have been afforded "the fundamental guarantees of procedure applied in matters of deprivation of liberty" (see Winterwerp v. the Netherlands, 24 October 1979, § 60, Series A No. 33, and Sanchez-Reisse v
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