He was informed of his right to remain silent and to see a lawyer at the end of the police custody period. The police officers put questions to him and he exercised his right to remain silent. In February 2001 he was charged with belonging to Hizbullah. On 4 December 2001, the State Security Court sentenced him to 12 years and six months' imprisonment. Mr. Dayanan appealed on points of law. On 18 March 2002 the Principal Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation submitted his written observations on the merits of the appeal but they were not sent to the applicant or his lawyer. In a decision of 29 May 2002, in the absence of Mr. Dayanan and his lawyer, the Court of Cassation upheld the judgment in question.
The Court stated that the fact that under the law then in force, the applicant had not had legal assistance while in police custody, constituted a breach of the requirements set out by art 6, despite the fact that the applicant remained silent during police custody. The Court also found that the failure to send Mr. Dayanan a copy of the opinion of the Principal Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation had breached his right to adversarial proceedings.