According to the complainant, these delays were entirely due to the authorities, who repeatedly postponed consideration of his appeal because they were embarrassed to have to convict a person - who, to make matters worse, was a political opponent - for illegally attempting to leave the country. He says that this conviction would in itself be harmful to the image of the regime and that this made it harder to hand down a stiff sentence.
Selon le requérant, ces délais ont résulté de la seule responsabilité des autorités, qui avaient à plusieurs reprises reporté l'examen de l'appel en raison de leur embarras à devoir condamner une personne, qui plus est un opposant politique, pour tentative de sortie illégale du territoire, une telle condamnation étant en soi préjudiciable à l'image du régime et ne permettant pas d'infliger de lourdes peines.