4.  The applicant was born in 1964 and lives in Mažeikiai. 5.  On 17 January 1996 the Lithuanian authorities decided to charge the applicant with the embezzlement of 1,000,000 Lithuanian litas (LTL), which his company had given him to purchase certain equipment. Given that prior to the latter date the applicant had fled Lithuania, the prosecutors ordered a search for him. It was also decided that, once apprehended, the applicant would be placed in detention. 6.  On 16 May 1996 the authorities apprehended the applicant in Latvia, brought him to Lithuania and placed him in detention. The same day the applicant was informed about the charges against him. 7.  On 15 August 1996 the applicant was released from detention and placed under house arrest. When questioned before a pre-trial judge, the applicant asserted that, whilst staying in Latvia, he had no information about his search. The applicant admitted that his wife had visited him in Riga a couple of times; however, she had never told him about pending criminal charges against him.
The applicant remained under house arrest until 19 April 2006. 8.  Later on in 1996 the prosecution charged the applicant with having fraudulently reported a crime and with forgery of an official document. 9.  On 22 June 1998 the pre-trial investigation was concluded and the case was transferred to the Mažeikiai District Court. 10.  On 2 December 2002, 3 and 22 April 2003 the hearing of the case was postponed, since some of the applicant's co-accused failed to appear in court. 11.  On 2 September 2004 the Mažeikiai District Court dismissed as time-barred the charges against the applicant for forgery of documents and fraudulent reporting of a crime. 12.  The same day the Mažeikiai District Court convicted the applicant and six of his co-accused of having acted in an organised group of persons who fraudulently acquired property of a significant value. The applicant was sentenced to two years and six months of deprivation of liberty. 13.  The applicant appealed. 14.  On 25 November 2004, 12 September 2005 and 9 February 2006 the examination of the case on appeal was postponed because the lawyers for the applicant and the co-accused failed to appear in court. 15.  On 19 April 2006 the Šiauliai Regional Court amended the lower court's judgment. It convicted the applicant of assisting in fraudulently acquiring property of a significant value, and reduced the sentence imposed by one year. 16.  On 14 November 2006 the Supreme Court dismissed the applicant's cassation appeal.