PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 10816/02) 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 Piotr Kozimor (“the applicant”), on 22 December 2000.

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

On 6 September 2005 the Court declared the application partly inadmissible and decided to communicate the complaints concerning the length of the applicant's pre-trial detention, lack of equality of arms in the proceedings for prolonging his pre-trial detention and the censorship of his correspondence to the Government. 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.

On 23 September 2005 the applicant's sister, Mrs Renata Kozimor, informed the Court's Registry that the applicant had died on 12 August 2005. She stated that she wished to continue the proceedings before the Court in her late brother's stead.

THE FACTS

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

The applicant was born in 1971 and lived in Przemyśl, Poland.

1. The criminal proceedings

On 14 August 1997 the applicant was arrested by the police. On 15 August 1997 the Przemyśl District Court (Sąd Rejonowy) decided to detain the applicant on remand in view of the reasonable suspicion that he had committed a homicide.

Subsequently, the applicant's pre-trial detention was prolonged on several occasions, in particular at the hearing held on 5 November 1998.

On 21 December 1998 the Przemyśl Regional Court (Sąd Wojewódzki) convicted the applicant of homicide and sentenced him to 25 years' imprisonment.

On 29 April 1999 the Court of Appeal quashed the impugned judgment and remitted the case.

On 2 June 1999 the Przemyśl Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy) decided to prolong the applicant's pre-trial detention. The court gave the following reasons: “Prolongation of the applicant's detention on remand is justified by the fact that the applicant has been accused of homicide.”

On 24 February 2000 the Przemyśl Regional Court dismissed the applicant's request for release. The reasons of the decision are as follows: “[The applicant] has been accused of having committed [a homicide] and the original reasons for keeping him in detention are still valid.”

On 3 March 2000 the Przemyśl Regional Court further prolonged the applicant's pre-trial detention. The court found that keeping the applicant in detention was necessary because he had been charged with homicide and the trial court had started the process of obtaining expert evidence.

On 12 April 2000 the trial court held the first hearing. Subsequently, ten hearings were held.

On 2 June and 29 August 2000 the applicant's pre-trial detention was prolonged as the courts considered that the necessity to secure the proper conduct of the proceedings and the severity of the anticipated penalty justified keeping him in custody.

On 14 September 2000 the Rzeszów Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant's appeal against the decision of 29 August 2000. The applicant submits that neither he nor his lawyer was informed about the majority of scheduled court sessions at which his detention on remand was prolonged and that he was not allowed to attend any of these sessions.

On 28 December 2000 the Rzeszów Regional Court gave judgment. The court convicted the applicant and sentenced him to 25 years' imprisonment. The applicant appealed.

On 17 May 2001 the Rzeszów Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny) amended the impugned judgment. The court sentenced the applicant to 15 years' imprisonment. The applicant lodged a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy).

On 28 February 2002 the Supreme Court dismissed his cassation appeal as being manifestly ill-founded.

2. The monitoring of the applicant's correspondence

On 28 February 2001 the Court's Registry sent to the applicant, who at that time had been detained on remand in the Przemyśl Detention Centre, an application form and accompanying documents in reply to his letter in which he had notified his intention to lodge a complaint with the Court. The Court's envelope delivered to the applicant bears the stamp: Rzeszów Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy w Rzeszowie) and a hand‑written note: censo., 21.03.2001 (cenzu. 21.03.01).

The envelope from the Chancellery of the Senate of the Republic of Poland of 30 January 2001 bears the same stamp as above and a hand‑written note: censored, 1 [February 20]01 (cenzurowano, 7.02.01) and an illegible signature.

The applicant also submitted that his correspondence with his court‑appointed lawyer had been censored by the authorities of the Przemyśl Detention Centre. He provided an envelope addressed to his lawyer which bears the following stamps: the Rzeszów Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy w Rzeszowie), a hand-written note: censored, 19 [July 20]00 (cenzurowano, 19.07.2000) and an illegible signature. The envelope was posted on 19 July 2000. The second envelope, also addressed to his lawyer, bears the same stamp of the Regional Court, a date: 1.02.2001 and an illegible signature. The third envelope was addressed to the applicant by his lawyer. The envelope, posted on 26 January 2001, bears the following stamps: the Przemyśl Prison 29.01.2001 (Zakład Karny w Przemyślu), the Rzeszów Regional Court, 1.02.2001, and an illegible signature.
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-80083_a4_e1
001-80083_a4_em1
CODE
DIRECT
10816/02
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
correct
001-80083_a4_e2
001-80083_a4_em2
ORG
NO_MASK
Republic of Poland
ETHNIC
insert
001-80083_a4_e3
001-80083_a4_em3
DEM
NO_MASK
Polish national
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-80083_a4_e4
001-80083_a4_em4
PERSON
DIRECT
Mr Piotr Kozimor
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e5
001-80083_a4_em5
DATETIME
QUASI
22 December 2000
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-80083_a4_e6
001-80083_a4_em6
ORG
NO_MASK
Polish Government
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e7
001-80083_a4_em7
PERSON
NO_MASK
Mr J. Wołąsiewicz
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-80083_a4_e8
001-80083_a4_em8
ORG
NO_MASK
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e9
001-80083_a4_em9
DATETIME
QUASI
6 September 2005
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e10
001-80083_a4_em10
DATETIME
QUASI
23 September 2005
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e11
001-80083_a4_em11
PERSON
QUASI
Mrs Renata Kozimor
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001-80083_a4_e12
001-80083_a4_em12
ORG
NO_MASK
Court's Registry
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001-80083_a4_em13
DATETIME
QUASI
12 August 2005
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e14
001-80083_a4_em14
DATETIME
QUASI
1971
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e15
001-80083_a4_em15
LOC
QUASI
Przemyśl, Poland
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e16
001-80083_a4_em16
DATETIME
QUASI
14 August 1997
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001-80083_a4_e17
001-80083_a4_em17
DATETIME
QUASI
15 August 1997
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e18
001-80083_a4_em18
ORG
QUASI
Przemyśl District Court (Sąd Rejonowy)
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e19
001-80083_a4_em19
DATETIME
QUASI
5 November 1998
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001-80083_a4_e20
001-80083_a4_em20
DATETIME
QUASI
21 December 1998
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e21
001-80083_a4_em21
ORG
QUASI
Przemyśl Regional Court (Sąd Wojewódzki)
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e22
001-80083_a4_em22
DATETIME
QUASI
25 years'
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001-80083_a4_em23
DATETIME
QUASI
29 April 1999
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e24
001-80083_a4_em24
ORG
NO_MASK
Court of Appeal
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001-80083_a4_e25
001-80083_a4_em25
DATETIME
QUASI
2 June 1999
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e26
001-80083_a4_em26
ORG
QUASI
Przemyśl Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy)
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001-80083_a4_e27
001-80083_a4_em27
DATETIME
QUASI
24 February 2000
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001-80083_a4_e28
001-80083_a4_em28
ORG
QUASI
Przemyśl Regional Court
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e29
001-80083_a4_em29
DATETIME
QUASI
3 March 2000
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e28
001-80083_a4_em30
ORG
QUASI
Przemyśl Regional Court
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e30
001-80083_a4_em31
DATETIME
QUASI
12 April 2000
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e31
001-80083_a4_em32
DATETIME
QUASI
2 June and 29 August 2000
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001-80083_a4_e32
001-80083_a4_em33
DATETIME
QUASI
14 September 2000
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-80083_a4_e33
001-80083_a4_em34
ORG
QUASI
Rzeszów Court of Appeal
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e34
001-80083_a4_em35
DATETIME
QUASI
29 August 2000
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e35
001-80083_a4_em36
DATETIME
QUASI
28 December 2000
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e36
001-80083_a4_em37
ORG
QUASI
Rzeszów Regional Court
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e22
001-80083_a4_em38
DATETIME
QUASI
25 years'
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001-80083_a4_e37
001-80083_a4_em39
DATETIME
QUASI
17 May 2001
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e38
001-80083_a4_em40
ORG
QUASI
Rzeszów Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny)
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e39
001-80083_a4_em41
DATETIME
QUASI
15 years'
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e40
001-80083_a4_em42
ORG
NO_MASK
Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy)
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e41
001-80083_a4_em43
DATETIME
QUASI
28 February 2002
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e42
001-80083_a4_em44
ORG
NO_MASK
Supreme Court
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001-80083_a4_e43
001-80083_a4_em45
DATETIME
QUASI
28 February 2001
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e44
001-80083_a4_em46
ORG
QUASI
Przemyśl Detention Centre
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e45
001-80083_a4_em47
ORG
QUASI
Rzeszów Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy w Rzeszowie)
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
correct
001-80083_a4_e46
001-80083_a4_em48
DATETIME
QUASI
21.03.2001
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
correct
001-80083_a4_e46
001-80083_a4_em49
DATETIME
QUASI
001-80083_a4_em48
21.03.01
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e2
001-80083_a4_em50
ORG
NO_MASK
Republic of Poland
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e47
001-80083_a4_em51
DATETIME
QUASI
30 January 2001
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e48
001-80083_a4_em52
DATETIME
QUASI
February 20]01
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e48
001-80083_a4_em53
DATETIME
QUASI
001-80083_a4_em52
7.02.01
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001-80083_a4_e44
001-80083_a4_em54
ORG
QUASI
Przemyśl Detention Centre
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e45
001-80083_a4_em55
ORG
QUASI
Rzeszów Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy w Rzeszowie)
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insert
001-80083_a4_e49
001-80083_a4_em56
DATETIME
QUASI
19 [July 20]00
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correct
001-80083_a4_e49
001-80083_a4_em57
DATETIME
QUASI
001-80083_a4_em56
19.07.2000
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001-80083_a4_e50
001-80083_a4_em58
DATETIME
QUASI
19 July 2000
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e51
001-80083_a4_em59
ORG
NO_MASK
Regional Court
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correct
001-80083_a4_e52
001-80083_a4_em60
DATETIME
QUASI
1.02.2001
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001-80083_a4_e53
001-80083_a4_em61
DATETIME
QUASI
26 January 2001
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001-80083_a4_e54
001-80083_a4_em62
ORG
QUASI
Przemyśl Prison
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-80083_a4_e55
001-80083_a4_em63
DATETIME
QUASI
29.01.2001
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-80083_a4_e54
001-80083_a4_em64
ORG
QUASI
001-80083_a4_em62
(Zakład Karny w Przemyślu)
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80083_a4_e36
001-80083_a4_em65
ORG
QUASI
Rzeszów Regional Court
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-80083_a4_e52
001-80083_a4_em66
DATETIME
QUASI
1.02.2001
Piotr Kozimor
POL
CHAMBER
Task: Annotate the document to anonymise the following person: Piotr Kozimor