4.  The applicant was born in 1975 and lives in Kamińsk. 5.  In 2001 the police conducted an operation to disband several organised criminal gangs that were acting in and around Warsaw, stealing luxury cars with a view to selling them in the countries of the former Soviet Union. There were about five such groups, cooperating closely with each other and closely connected with Poland's most dangerous armed criminal groups: the Pruszków mafia and the Wołomin mafia. 6.  The applicant was arrested on 18 December 2001 on suspicion of forming and leading an organised criminal gang, carrying out multiple robberies with extreme brutality, committing a series of thefts and handling stolen property. He was remanded in custody by a decision of the Warsaw District Court of 20 December 2001. 7.  At that time the Warsaw Regional Prosecutor was conducting an investigation in respect of more than fifty other members of the criminal gangs mentioned above. Forty-two of them were held in custody. The investigation was complex and time-consuming, given that the criminal gangs collaborated closely with many persons who were to be questioned by the prosecutors, for example, receivers of stolen goods, persons hiding stolen cars or persons tracking cars which were to be stolen, among others. 8.  In addition, the prosecutor opened an investigation in respect of several police officers from Warsaw and surrounding towns on charges of corruption and helping the criminal groups' members to evade the law. 9.  On 5 December 2002 a bill of indictment against the applicant and fifty-nine other co-accused (members of five cooperating criminal gangs) was lodged with the Warsaw District Court. The evidentiary material was presented in 99 case files. The applicant was charged with forming and leading a criminal gang, carrying out multiple robberies, committing a series of thefts and handling stolen property on a large scale. The criminal gang, of which the applicant was the leader, was known for its brutality and ruthlessness and for the illegal trafficking of firearms. 10.  On 6 January 2003 the Warsaw District Court held the first hearing. The following hearings were held by the District Court on: 23, 30 May, 23, 24 June, 1,4,7,8 July, 13, 18, 22, 25 August, 5, 12, 15, 19 September, 10, 20, 21, 23, 24, 31 October, 17 November, 5, 22 and 23 December 2003; 5, 26 January, 16, 17, 19, 20 February, 8, 9 March, 1, 9 April, 14, 18, 21, 25 May, 3, 7, 14, 23 June, 5 July, 10, 25, 31 August, 3, 6 September, 7, 8, 15 October, 2, 9 November, 7, 8, 10, 13 and 18 December 2004. In total, sixty hearings were held by the District Court. 11.  During the trial the District Court examined a wide range of evidentiary material, ordered medical expert opinions on the accuseds' mental health and expert opinions in the field of dactyloscopy, conducted inquiries in the accuseds' respective neighbourhoods, inspections of the crime scenes and garages where the stolen cars had been hidden and assessments of the accuseds' assets. The proceedings involved taking evidence from a considerable number of witnesses and victims and from one key witness. 12.  The applicant's pre-trial detention was prolonged several times upon the Warsaw Regional Prosecutor's request by the District Court. The decisions were issued, inter alia, on 15 March, 17 June, 13 December 2002, 12 December 2003, 6 March, 22 June, 28 September, 5 November 2004, 16 March, 15 July and 30 September 2005. In its decisions the court underlined that there was a strong likelihood that the applicant had committed the crimes, confirmed in particular by the testimonies of a key witness and a co-accused, and considered that there was a reasonable risk that the applicant would tamper with the evidence, given that he had had close connections with the other co-accused and was the leader of the criminal gang. In that respect, the court pointed out that the applicant had attempted to pass illegal correspondence out of custody. The court also made reference to the activities previously carried out and gave a precise indication of the evidence that still had to be taken. Consequently, it decided that it was indispensable to separate the applicant from the other suspects, the witnesses and the evidence which had not yet been secured. The court also relied on the serious nature of the charges against the applicant and the severity of the penalty he faced. No special circumstances dictated the lifting of the detention. 13.  The applicant appealed against several of the above mentioned decisions:
– his appeal of 23 December 2002 against the decision of 13 December 2002 was dismissed by the Warsaw District Court on 13 January 2003. The decision was upheld on 4 March 2003 by the Warsaw Regional Court;
– his appeal of 22 December 2003 against the decision of 12 December 2003 was dismissed by the Warsaw Court of Appeal on 6 February 2004;
– his appeal of 23 December 2004 against the decision of 18 December 2004 was dismissed on 18 January 2005;
– his appeal of 28 July 2005 against the decision of 15 July 2005 was dismissed by the Warsaw Regional Court on 23 August 2005. 14.  From 30 July 2002 to 26 January 2004 the applicant served a prison sentence imposed on him in separate proceedings by a judgment of the Warsaw District Court of 17 April 2001. 15. On 18 December 2004 the District Court imposed a sentence on fifty of the co-accused. The applicant was found guilty of the charges against him and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment and a fine of 20,000 Polish zlotys (PLN). The judgment, with its written grounds, was served on the applicant's lawyer on an unspecified date in November 2005. 16.  On 5 December 2005 the applicant's lawyer lodged an appeal against the judgment. 17.  On 9 January 2006 the applicant lodged a request to quash the detention order and apply a less severe preventive measure. On 13 January 2006 the court quashed the detention order on bail of PLN 150,000 and ordered the applicant to be placed under police surveillance and banned from leaving the country. 18.  On 25 January 2006 the applicant lodged a request to reduce the bail to PLN 10,000, but it was dismissed on 30 January 2006. 19.  On 31 January 2006 the applicant lodged a request to take out a mortgage on his mother's property in place of the bail. On 1 February 2006 the court prolonged the applicant's detention until the mortgage could he taken out. The applicant was released on 7 March 2006. 20.  On 6 June 2006 the case file, comprising 149 volumes, was transferred to the second-instance court. On 22 November 2006 the appellate court quashed the judgment and remitted the case for re-examination.