PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 44025/08) 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 Robert Friedensberg (“the applicant”), on 13 April 2007.

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

On 18 February 2009 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

A. Criminal proceedings against the applicant

The applicant was born in 1971 and lives in Krasnystaw.

On 28 October 2005 the applicant was detained on remand by the decision of the Puławy District Court (Sąd Rejonowy).

The pre-trial detention was subsequently extended by the domestic courts.

During the detention the applicant served two prison sentences (of ten and four months respectively), ordered in different sets of criminal proceedings against him.

On 6 March 2007 the Puławy District Court convicted the applicant of numerous counts of robbery and sentenced him to three years' imprisonment.

On 27 September 2007 the Lublin Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy) upheld the judgment of the District Court.

On 21 November 2007 the applicant's legal-aid counsel found no grounds for lodging a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy).

B. Monitoring of the applicant's correspondence

While detained in the course of the above-mentioned proceedings, the applicant's correspondence was censored on several occasions.

All envelopes produced by the applicant bear a stamp that reads: “The Puławy District Court, Censored, date ...” (Sąd Rejonowy w Puławach, Ocenzurowano, dnia...) and an illegible signature. Those envelopes contained the following: a) one letter from the Lublin Oncological Centre (sent on 3 March 2006 and stamped on 15 March 2006); b) one letter from a hospital in Lublin (sent on 10 March 2006 and stamped on 20 March 2006); c) two letters from a sheltered-work factory (the first letter sent on 7 March 2006 and stamped on 20 March 2006; the second letter sent on 11 April 2006 and stamped on 24 April 2006); d) one letter from a bank in Poniatowa (sent on 5 September 2006 and stamped on 18 September 2006); e) one letter from the Opole Lubelskie District Employment Office (Powiatowy Urząd Pracy) (sent on 31 March 2006 and stamped on 11 April 2006); f) three letters from the Lublin Municipal Disability Evaluation Board (Miejski Zespół do Spraw Orzekania o Niepełnosprawności) (the first letter sent on 27 February 2006 and stamped on 6 March 2006; the second letter sent on 26 January 2007 and stamped on 1 February 2007; the third letter sent on 8 March 2007 and stamped on 15 March 2007); g) one letter from the ING Bank (sent on 10 May 2007 and stamped on 22 May 2007); h) three letters from the Lublin Social Security Board (Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych) (the first letter sent on18 April 2006 and stamped on 10 May 2006; the second letter sent on 17 August 2006 and stamped on 24 August 2006; the third letter sent on 20 February 2007 and stamped on 1 March 2007).
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e1
001-98434_a4_em1
CODE
DIRECT
44025/08
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
correct
001-98434_a4_e2
001-98434_a4_em2
ORG
NO_MASK
Republic of Poland
ETHNIC
insert
001-98434_a4_e3
001-98434_a4_em3
DEM
NO_MASK
Polish national
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e4
001-98434_a4_em4
PERSON
DIRECT
Mr Robert Friedensberg
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e5
001-98434_a4_em5
DATETIME
QUASI
13 April 2007
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-98434_a4_e6
001-98434_a4_em6
ORG
NO_MASK
Polish Government
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e7
001-98434_a4_em7
PERSON
NO_MASK
Mr J. Wołąsiewicz
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e8
001-98434_a4_em8
ORG
NO_MASK
Ministry of Foreign Affair
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e9
001-98434_a4_em9
DATETIME
QUASI
18 February 2009
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e10
001-98434_a4_em10
DATETIME
QUASI
1971
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e11
001-98434_a4_em11
LOC
QUASI
Krasnystaw
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e12
001-98434_a4_em12
DATETIME
QUASI
28 October 2005
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-98434_a4_e13
001-98434_a4_em13
ORG
QUASI
Puławy District Court (Sąd Rejonowy)
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e14
001-98434_a4_em14
DATETIME
NO_MASK
ten and four months
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e15
001-98434_a4_em15
DATETIME
QUASI
6 March 2007
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-98434_a4_e13
001-98434_a4_em16
ORG
QUASI
001-98434_a4_em13
Puławy District Court
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e16
001-98434_a4_em17
DATETIME
NO_MASK
three years'
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e17
001-98434_a4_em18
DATETIME
QUASI
27 September 2007
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-98434_a4_e18
001-98434_a4_em19
ORG
QUASI
Lublin Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy)
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e19
001-98434_a4_em20
ORG
NO_MASK
District Court
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e20
001-98434_a4_em21
DATETIME
QUASI
21 November 2007
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-98434_a4_e21
001-98434_a4_em22
ORG
QUASI
Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy)
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-98434_a4_e22
001-98434_a4_em23
ORG
QUASI
The Puławy District Court
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-98434_a4_e23
001-98434_a4_em24
ORG
QUASI
Sąd Rejonowy w Puławach
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e24
001-98434_a4_em25
ORG
QUASI
Lublin Oncological Centre
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e25
001-98434_a4_em26
DATETIME
QUASI
3 March 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e26
001-98434_a4_em27
DATETIME
QUASI
15 March 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e27
001-98434_a4_em28
LOC
QUASI
Lublin
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e28
001-98434_a4_em29
DATETIME
QUASI
10 March 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e29
001-98434_a4_em30
DATETIME
QUASI
20 March 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e30
001-98434_a4_em31
DATETIME
QUASI
7 March 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e29
001-98434_a4_em32
DATETIME
QUASI
20 March 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e31
001-98434_a4_em33
DATETIME
QUASI
11 April 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e32
001-98434_a4_em34
DATETIME
QUASI
24 April 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
correct
001-98434_a4_e33
001-98434_a4_em35
LOC
QUASI
Poniatowa
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-98434_a4_e34
001-98434_a4_em36
DATETIME
QUASI
5 September 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-98434_a4_e35
001-98434_a4_em37
DATETIME
QUASI
18 September 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-98434_a4_e36
001-98434_a4_em38
ORG
QUASI
Opole Lubelskie District Employment Office
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-98434_a4_e36
001-98434_a4_em39
ORG
NO_MASK
001-98434_a4_em38
Powiatowy Urząd Pracy
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e37
001-98434_a4_em40
DATETIME
QUASI
31 March 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-98434_a4_e31
001-98434_a4_em41
DATETIME
QUASI
11 April 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-98434_a4_e38
001-98434_a4_em42
ORG
QUASI
Lublin Municipal Disability Evaluation Board
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-98434_a4_e38
001-98434_a4_em43
ORG
NO_MASK
001-98434_a4_em42
Miejski Zespół do Spraw Orzekania o Niepełnosprawności
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e39
001-98434_a4_em44
DATETIME
QUASI
27 February 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-98434_a4_e40
001-98434_a4_em45
DATETIME
QUASI
6 March 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-98434_a4_e41
001-98434_a4_em46
DATETIME
QUASI
26 January 2007
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e42
001-98434_a4_em47
DATETIME
QUASI
1 February 2007
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-98434_a4_e43
001-98434_a4_em48
DATETIME
QUASI
8 March 2007
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-98434_a4_e44
001-98434_a4_em49
DATETIME
QUASI
15 March 2007
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-98434_a4_e45
001-98434_a4_em50
ORG
QUASI
ING Bank
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-98434_a4_e46
001-98434_a4_em51
DATETIME
QUASI
10 May 2007
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-98434_a4_e47
001-98434_a4_em52
DATETIME
QUASI
22 May 2007
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e48
001-98434_a4_em53
ORG
QUASI
Lublin Social Security Board
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
correct
001-98434_a4_e48
001-98434_a4_em54
ORG
NO_MASK
001-98434_a4_em53
Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-98434_a4_e49
001-98434_a4_em55
DATETIME
QUASI
18 April 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e50
001-98434_a4_em56
DATETIME
QUASI
10 May 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e51
001-98434_a4_em57
DATETIME
QUASI
17 August 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e52
001-98434_a4_em58
DATETIME
QUASI
24 August 2006
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-98434_a4_e53
001-98434_a4_em59
DATETIME
QUASI
20 February 2007
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-98434_a4_e54
001-98434_a4_em60
DATETIME
QUASI
1 March 2007
Robert Friedensberg
POL
CHAMBER
Task: Annotate the document to anonymise the following person: Robert Friedensberg