PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 33176/06) 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 Sebastian Gulczyński (“the applicant”), on 8 August 2006.

The applicant was represented by Ms A. Pietras, a lawyer practising in Gdynia. The Polish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr J. Wolasiewicz of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The applicant alleged, in particular, that his detention on remand had exceeded a “reasonable time” within the meaning of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention.

On 27 September 2007 the President of the Fourth Section of the Court decided to give notice of the application to the Government. It was also decided to examine the merits of the application at the same time as its admissibility (Article 29 § 3).

THE FACTS

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

The applicant was born in 1976 and lives in Gdańsk.

On 2 March 2003 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of armed robbery and theft committed as part of an organised criminal gang.

On 3 March 2003 the Gdańsk Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy) ordered his pre-trial detention. It referred to the likelihood that the applicant had committed the offences with which he had been charged. It further considered that there was a reasonable risk that the applicant would obstruct the investigation by inducing witnesses to give false testimony.

In the course of the investigation the applicant’s detention was prolonged by the Regional Court several times. The court referred to the likelihood of a severe sentence of imprisonment being imposed on the applicant and the complexity of the case. It relied on the fact that there were no circumstances to justify the application of a different preventive measure.

On 20 November 2003 the Gdańsk Regional Prosecutor (Prokurator Okręgowy) indicted the applicant together with 13 other persons on charges of armed robbery, fraud, destruction of documents and theft committed as part of an organised criminal gang. The prosecutor asked the court to hear evidence from at least 120 witnesses.

The trial began on 17 March 2004. The trial court held on average three hearings per month.

In the course of the trial the applicant’s detention was prolonged by the Regional Court and the Gdańsk Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny) several times. The court relied on the previous grounds. It also referred to the need to conclude the proceedings and in particular to ensure that the numerous co-accused and witnesses were questioned.

The applicant’s appeals against the decisions extending his detention and against the detention order, and all his subsequent, numerous applications for release and appeals against refusals to release him, were unsuccessful.

In particular, on 31 July 2006 the applicant made an application for his detention to be lifted or replaced by another preventive measure. He referred to the fact that his role in the organised criminal gang had been marginal and that the process of obtaining evidence had been successfully completed. On 17 August 2006 the Regional Court dismissed the application.

On 15 November 2006 the Gdańsk Regional Court convicted the applicant as charged and sentenced him to eight years’ imprisonment. The judgment became final, as on 28 November 2006 the applicant informed the Gdańsk Regional Court that he would not appeal.
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-89960_a1_e1
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CODE
DIRECT
33176/06
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correct
001-89960_a1_e2
001-89960_a1_em2
ORG
NO_MASK
Republic of Poland
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001-89960_a1_e3
001-89960_a1_em3
DEM
NO_MASK
Polish
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001-89960_a1_e4
001-89960_a1_em4
PERSON
DIRECT
Mr Sebastian Gulczyński
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DATETIME
QUASI
8 August 2006
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001-89960_a1_e6
001-89960_a1_em6
PERSON
QUASI
Ms A. Pietras
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001-89960_a1_e7
001-89960_a1_em7
LOC
QUASI
Gdynia
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001-89960_a1_e8
001-89960_a1_em8
ORG
NO_MASK
Polish Government
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001-89960_a1_e9
001-89960_a1_em9
PERSON
QUASI
Mr J. Wolasiewicz
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DATETIME
QUASI
27 September 2007
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001-89960_a1_em11
DATETIME
QUASI
1976
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001-89960_a1_em12
LOC
NO_MASK
Gdańsk
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001-89960_a1_e13
001-89960_a1_em13
DATETIME
QUASI
2 March 2003
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001-89960_a1_em14
DATETIME
QUASI
3 March 2003
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001-89960_a1_e15
001-89960_a1_em15
ORG
NO_MASK
Gdańsk Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy)
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001-89960_a1_e15
001-89960_a1_em16
ORG
NO_MASK
001-89960_a1_em15
Regional Court
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DATETIME
QUASI
20 November 2003
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001-89960_a1_e17
001-89960_a1_em18
ORG
NO_MASK
Gdańsk Regional Prosecutor (Prokurator Okręgowy)
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001-89960_a1_e18
001-89960_a1_em19
QUANTITY
QUASI
13 other persons
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001-89960_a1_e19
001-89960_a1_em20
QUANTITY
QUASI
120 witnesses
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001-89960_a1_em21
DATETIME
QUASI
17 March 2004
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001-89960_a1_em22
QUANTITY
QUASI
three hearings
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ORG
NO_MASK
Regional Court
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001-89960_a1_e22
001-89960_a1_em24
ORG
NO_MASK
Gdańsk Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny)
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001-89960_a1_e23
001-89960_a1_em25
DATETIME
QUASI
31 July 2006
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DATETIME
QUASI
17 August 2006
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ORG
NO_MASK
Regional Court
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001-89960_a1_e25
001-89960_a1_em28
DATETIME
QUASI
15 November 2006
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001-89960_a1_e15
001-89960_a1_em29
ORG
NO_MASK
001-89960_a1_em15
Gdańsk Regional Court
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001-89960_a1_e26
001-89960_a1_em30
DATETIME
QUASI
eight years
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DATETIME
QUASI
28 November 2006
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001-89960_a1_em32
ORG
NO_MASK
Gdańsk Regional Court
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001-89960_a4_e1
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CODE
DIRECT
33176/06
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001-89960_a4_e2
001-89960_a4_em2
ORG
NO_MASK
Republic of Poland
ETHNIC
insert
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001-89960_a4_em3
DEM
NO_MASK
Polish national
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001-89960_a4_e4
001-89960_a4_em4
PERSON
DIRECT
Mr Sebastian Gulczyński
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DATETIME
QUASI
8 August 2006
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PERSON
QUASI
Ms A. Pietras
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001-89960_a4_em7
LOC
NO_MASK
Gdynia
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001-89960_a4_em8
ORG
NO_MASK
Polish Government
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001-89960_a4_em9
PERSON
NO_MASK
Mr J. Wolasiewicz
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001-89960_a4_em10
ORG
NO_MASK
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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DATETIME
QUASI
27 September 2007
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001-89960_a4_em12
DATETIME
QUASI
1976
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001-89960_a4_em13
LOC
QUASI
Gdańsk
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001-89960_a4_e14
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DATETIME
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2 March 2003
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DATETIME
QUASI
3 March 2003
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001-89960_a4_em16
ORG
NO_MASK
Gdańsk Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy)
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ORG
NO_MASK
Regional Court
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001-89960_a4_em18
DATETIME
QUASI
20 November 2003
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001-89960_a4_em19
ORG
NO_MASK
Gdańsk Regional Prosecutor (Prokurator Okręgowy)
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001-89960_a4_e20
001-89960_a4_em20
QUANTITY
NO_MASK
120
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DATETIME
QUASI
17 March 2004
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ORG
NO_MASK
Regional Court
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ORG
NO_MASK
Gdańsk Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny)
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001-89960_a4_e23
001-89960_a4_em24
DATETIME
QUASI
31 July 2006
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001-89960_a4_em25
DATETIME
QUASI
17 August 2006
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001-89960_a4_em26
ORG
NO_MASK
Regional Court
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001-89960_a4_e25
001-89960_a4_em27
DATETIME
QUASI
15 November 2006
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001-89960_a4_e16
001-89960_a4_em28
ORG
NO_MASK
001-89960_a4_em16
Gdańsk Regional Court
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001-89960_a4_e26
001-89960_a4_em29
DATETIME
QUASI
eight years
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DATETIME
QUASI
28 November 2006
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ORG
NO_MASK
Gdańsk Regional Court
Sebastian Gulczyński
POL
CHAMBER
Task: Annotate the document to anonymise the following person: Sebastian Gulczyński