PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 62323/00) against the Republic of Poland lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a Polish national, Mr Zygmunt Najdecki (“the applicant”), on 21 April 1999.

The Polish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr J. Wołąsiewicz of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On 18 October 2005 the Court declared the application partly inadmissible and decided to communicate to the Government the complaints concerning the length of the applicant’s detention on remand and censorship of his correspondence with his lawyer. Under the provisions of Article 29 § 3 of the Convention, it decided to examine the merits of the application at the same time as its admissibility.

THE FACTS

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

The applicant was born in 1950 and lives in Miłkowice, Poland.

1. The applicant’s detention on remand

On 26 May 1998 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of having committed fraud and forgery while being a member of an organised criminal group.

On 27 May 1998 the Legnica District Court (Sąd Rejonowy) detained the applicant and two other co-suspects on remand. The Legnica Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy) upheld that decision on 18 June 1998. The courts considered that the applicant’s detention was justified by the existence of strong evidence against him and the gravity of the charges. They also relied on the risk that the applicant might attempt to tamper with evidence.

On 19 August 1998 the Legnica Regional Court ordered that the applicant be kept in custody until 26 November 1998. The court repeated the reasons previously given for the applicant’s detention and noted that the applicant had attempted to influence his co-suspects to change their statements.

The applicant’s detention was prolonged several times by the Legnica Regional Court for the same reasons as before. The applicant’s appeals against those decisions were dismissed.

On 2 June 1999 the applicant and 12 other persons were indicted on several counts of fraud and forgery, and participation in an organised criminal gang.

The applicant remained in detention.

The first hearing before the Legnica Regional Court was scheduled for 14 September 1999. Subsequently, the court held 34 hearings.

On 12 April 2000 the Regional Court decided to ask the Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy) to prolong the applicant’s detention.

The applicant’s detention was subsequently prolonged numerous times by the Legnica Regional Court and the Wrocław Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny) for the same reasons as before. The applicant’s appeals against those decisions were dismissed.

On 8 July 1999 and 7 November 2001 the applicant lodged unsuccessful applications for release with the Legnica Regional Court.

On 15 February 2002 the Legnica Regional Court asked the Wrocław Court of Appeal to prolong further the applicant’s detention until 30 April 2002.

On 21 February 2002 the Court of Appeal refused the application. The court noted that the applicant had already been detained for 3 years and 8 months. The court further found that the interests of the trial did not justify keeping him in detention any longer, especially since a large part of the evidence had already been examined and the witnesses heard.

On 27 February 2002 the Legnica Regional Court released the applicant.

The Legnica Regional Court on 16 December 2002 convicted the applicant as charged and sentenced him to 7 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.

On 20 November 2003 the Wrocław Court of Appeal upheld the first-instance judgment.

2. Censorship of the applicant’s correspondence

On 9 August 2001 the applicant sent a letter to the Court, submitting that his correspondence with his defence counsel had been censored. He enclosed a fragment of the envelope of the letter his lawyer had sent him at the detention centre. The envelope bears an official stamp of the legal office: “Kancelaria Adwokacka, adw. Zenon Duda” (Legal Office, Zenon Duda, Barrister). It also bears the stamp “Ocenzurowano, Legnica, dn. 06.08.2001” (Censored, Legnica on 06.08.2001) and an illegible signature.
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-79344_a6_e1
001-79344_a6_em1
CODE
DIRECT
62323/00
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correct
001-79344_a6_e2
001-79344_a6_em2
ORG
NO_MASK
Republic of Poland
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insert
001-79344_a6_e2
001-79344_a6_em3
DEM
QUASI
Polish
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001-79344_a6_e3
001-79344_a6_em4
PERSON
DIRECT
Mr Zygmunt Najdecki
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001-79344_a6_e4
001-79344_a6_em5
DATETIME
QUASI
21 April 1999
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001-79344_a6_e2
001-79344_a6_em6
ORG
NO_MASK
001-79344_a6_em2
Polish
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001-79344_a6_e5
001-79344_a6_em7
PERSON
QUASI
Mr J. Wołąsiewicz
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001-79344_a6_e6
001-79344_a6_em8
DATETIME
QUASI
18 October 2005
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001-79344_a6_e7
001-79344_a6_em9
DATETIME
QUASI
1950
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001-79344_a6_e8
001-79344_a6_em10
LOC
QUASI
Miłkowice, Poland
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001-79344_a6_e9
001-79344_a6_em11
DATETIME
QUASI
26 May 1998
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001-79344_a6_e10
001-79344_a6_em12
ORG
NO_MASK
organised criminal group
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001-79344_a6_e11
001-79344_a6_em13
DATETIME
QUASI
27 May 1998
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001-79344_a6_e12
001-79344_a6_em14
ORG
QUASI
Legnica District Court (Sąd Rejonowy)
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001-79344_a6_e13
001-79344_a6_em15
ORG
QUASI
The Legnica Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy)
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001-79344_a6_e14
001-79344_a6_em16
DATETIME
QUASI
18 June 1998
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001-79344_a6_e15
001-79344_a6_em17
DATETIME
QUASI
19 August 1998
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001-79344_a6_e13
001-79344_a6_em18
ORG
QUASI
Legnica Regional Court
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001-79344_a6_e16
001-79344_a6_em19
DATETIME
QUASI
26 November 1998
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001-79344_a6_e13
001-79344_a6_em20
ORG
QUASI
001-79344_a6_em15
Legnica Regional Court
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001-79344_a6_e17
001-79344_a6_em21
DATETIME
QUASI
2 June 1999
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001-79344_a6_e18
001-79344_a6_em22
QUANTITY
QUASI
12
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001-79344_a6_e13
001-79344_a6_em23
ORG
QUASI
Legnica Regional Court
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001-79344_a6_e19
001-79344_a6_em24
DATETIME
QUASI
14 September 1999
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001-79344_a6_em25
QUANTITY
NO_MASK
34
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001-79344_a6_e21
001-79344_a6_em26
DATETIME
QUASI
12 April 2000
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001-79344_a6_e13
001-79344_a6_em27
ORG
NO_MASK
001-79344_a6_em20
Regional Court
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001-79344_a6_e22
001-79344_a6_em28
ORG
QUASI
Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy)
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001-79344_a6_em29
ORG
QUASI
Legnica Regional Court
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001-79344_a6_em30
ORG
QUASI
Wrocław Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny)
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001-79344_a6_e24
001-79344_a6_em31
DATETIME
QUASI
8 July 1999
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001-79344_a6_em32
DATETIME
QUASI
7 November 2001
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001-79344_a6_e13
001-79344_a6_em33
ORG
QUASI
Legnica Regional Court
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001-79344_a6_e26
001-79344_a6_em34
DATETIME
QUASI
15 February 2002
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001-79344_a6_e13
001-79344_a6_em35
ORG
QUASI
Legnica Regional Court
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ORG
QUASI
001-79344_a6_em30
Wrocław Court of Appeal
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001-79344_a6_e27
001-79344_a6_em37
DATETIME
QUASI
30 April 2002
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DATETIME
QUASI
21 February 2002
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001-79344_a6_e29
001-79344_a6_em39
DATETIME
QUASI
3 years and 8 months
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001-79344_a6_em40
DATETIME
QUASI
27 February 2002
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001-79344_a6_e13
001-79344_a6_em41
ORG
QUASI
Legnica Regional Court
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001-79344_a6_e13
001-79344_a6_em42
ORG
QUASI
Legnica Regional Court
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DATETIME
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16 December 2002
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DATETIME
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7 years and 6 months
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DATETIME
QUASI
20 November 2003
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ORG
QUASI
Wrocław Court of Appeal
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001-79344_a6_e34
001-79344_a6_em47
DATETIME
QUASI
9 August 2001
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001-79344_a6_em48
MISC
QUASI
“Kancelaria Adwokacka, adw. Zenon Duda”
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001-79344_a6_e36
001-79344_a6_em49
ORG
QUASI
Legal Office, Zenon Duda, Barrister
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001-79344_a6_e37
001-79344_a6_em50
MISC
QUASI
Ocenzurowano, Legnica,
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001-79344_a6_e38
001-79344_a6_em51
DATETIME
QUASI
06.08.2001
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001-79344_a6_e39
001-79344_a6_em52
LOC
QUASI
Legnica
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correct
001-79344_a6_e38
001-79344_a6_em53
DATETIME
QUASI
06.08.2001
Zygmunt Najdecki
POL
CHAMBER
Task: Annotate the document to anonymise the following person: Zygmunt Najdecki