PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 12772/06) 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 Marek Kotowski (“the applicant”), on 12 March 2006.

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

On 25 March 2008 the President of the Fourth Section 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 1964 and lives in Bydgoszcz.

A. Criminal proceedings against the applicant and his detention on remand

On 13 July 2005 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of physical and mental cruelty towards his common-law wife. On 16 July 2005 he was detained on remand. The court relied on the reasonable suspicion that the applicant had committed the offence with which he had been charged, which was supported by evidence from witnesses and documents. The court also relied on the risk that he might tamper with evidence, since the victim was his next of kin.

On 12 October 2005 the Bydgoszcz District Court (Sąd Rejonowy) extended his detention until 13 January 2006. It referred to the likelihood of a severe sentence of imprisonment being imposed on the applicant. It also relied on the risk that he might tamper with evidence.

On 4 January 2006 the court extended the applicant’s detention until 13 April 2006. On 10 April 2006 it ordered that the term should be extended until 13 July 2006. The court referred to the grounds for detention listed in the previous decisions.

In the meantime, the District Court had proceeded with the trial. The hearings were held on 29 November 2005, 4 January, 6 February and 8 May 2006. The court heard evidence from 12 witnesses and in the course of the proceedings two expert reports were given.

In the course of the proceedings the applicant made numerous, unsuccessful applications for release and appealed, likewise unsuccessfully, against refusals to release him and decisions extending his detention.

On 11 May 2006 the Bydgoszcz District Court convicted the applicant as charged and sentenced him to 3 years’ imprisonment. He appealed.

The applicant’s detention was subsequently extended on several occasions.

On 5 January 2007 the Bydgoszcz Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy) upheld the trial court’s judgment.

On 17 August 2007 the Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy) dismissed the applicant’s cassation appeal as being manifestly ill-founded.

B. Censorship of the applicant’s correspondence

On 2 October 2006 the applicant complained that the Court’s letter of 15 September 2006 had been censored by the authorities. The envelope of this letter, produced by the applicant, bears a red stamp that read: “Censored” (Cenzurowane).
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-94440_a4_e1
001-94440_a4_em1
CODE
DIRECT
12772/06
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
correct
001-94440_a4_e2
001-94440_a4_em2
ORG
NO_MASK
Republic of Poland
ETHNIC
insert
001-94440_a4_e3
001-94440_a4_em3
DEM
NO_MASK
Polish national
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-94440_a4_e4
001-94440_a4_em4
PERSON
DIRECT
Mr Marek Kotowski
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-94440_a4_e5
001-94440_a4_em5
DATETIME
QUASI
12 March 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-94440_a4_e6
001-94440_a4_em6
ORG
NO_MASK
Polish Government
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-94440_a4_e7
001-94440_a4_em7
PERSON
NO_MASK
Mr Jakub Wołąsiewicz
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-94440_a4_e8
001-94440_a4_em8
ORG
NO_MASK
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-94440_a4_e9
001-94440_a4_em9
DATETIME
QUASI
25 March 2008
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-94440_a4_e10
001-94440_a4_em10
DATETIME
QUASI
1964
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001-94440_a4_e11
001-94440_a4_em11
LOC
QUASI
Bydgoszcz
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-94440_a4_e12
001-94440_a4_em12
DATETIME
QUASI
13 July 2005
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-94440_a4_e13
001-94440_a4_em13
DATETIME
QUASI
16 July 2005
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-94440_a4_e14
001-94440_a4_em14
DATETIME
QUASI
12 October 2005
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-94440_a4_e15
001-94440_a4_em15
ORG
NO_MASK
Bydgoszcz District Court (Sąd Rejonowy)
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001-94440_a4_e16
001-94440_a4_em16
DATETIME
QUASI
13 January 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-94440_a4_e17
001-94440_a4_em17
DATETIME
QUASI
4 January 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-94440_a4_e18
001-94440_a4_em18
DATETIME
QUASI
13 April 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-94440_a4_e19
001-94440_a4_em19
DATETIME
QUASI
10 April 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-94440_a4_e20
001-94440_a4_em20
DATETIME
QUASI
13 July 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-94440_a4_e15
001-94440_a4_em21
ORG
NO_MASK
001-94440_a4_em15
District Court
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001-94440_a4_e21
001-94440_a4_em22
DATETIME
QUASI
29 November 2005
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001-94440_a4_e22
001-94440_a4_em23
DATETIME
QUASI
4 January, 6 February and 8 May 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-94440_a4_e23
001-94440_a4_em24
QUANTITY
QUASI
12
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-94440_a4_e24
001-94440_a4_em25
DATETIME
QUASI
11 May 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-94440_a4_e15
001-94440_a4_em26
ORG
NO_MASK
001-94440_a4_em15
Bydgoszcz District Court
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-94440_a4_e25
001-94440_a4_em27
DATETIME
NO_MASK
3 years
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-94440_a4_e26
001-94440_a4_em28
DATETIME
QUASI
5 January 2007
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-94440_a4_e27
001-94440_a4_em29
ORG
NO_MASK
Bydgoszcz Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy)
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-94440_a4_e28
001-94440_a4_em30
DATETIME
QUASI
17 August 2007
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-94440_a4_e29
001-94440_a4_em31
ORG
NO_MASK
Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy)
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001-94440_a4_e30
001-94440_a4_em32
DATETIME
QUASI
2 October 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-94440_a4_e31
001-94440_a4_em33
DATETIME
QUASI
15 September 2006
Marek Kotowski
POL
CHAMBER
Task: Annotate the document to anonymise the following person: Marek Kotowski