8.  On 22 February 1996 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking. The next day he was remanded in custody by the Wrocław Regional Prosecutor (Prokurator Wojewódzki). His appeal against the remand order was dismissed on 22 March 1996 by the Jelenia Góra Regional Court (Sąd Wojewódzki). 9.  In March 1996 the prosecutor ordered expert opinions on tool mark identification and microtraces. 10.  On 16 May 1996 the Jelenia Góra Regional Court prolonged the applicant’s detention until 31 August 1996, considering, inter alia, that the number of suspected persons and the translation of certain documents from German into Polish made it impossible to complete the proceedings within the originally fixed three month time-limit. On 5 June 1996 the Wrocław Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny) dismissed the applicant’s appeal against that decision. 11.  On 26 August 1996 the Wrocław Court of Appeal prolonged his detention until 30 September 1996, referring to the applicant’s connections with certain individuals residing abroad and the expert opinions which had to be obtained. 12.  On 30 September 1996 the same court prolonged the detention until 31 December 1996. It pointed out that the case was very complex and several items of evidence had to be examined. The court further noted that there was a reasonable suspicion that the applicant had committed the offence. On 14 November 1996 the Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy) dismissed the applicant’s appeal against that decision, observing, however, that the need to obtain expert opinions on pyrotechnics and forged documents could not constitute a ground for the prolongation of the applicant’s detention, as it did not relate to the counts of which he was suspected. 13.  On 19 December 1996 the Wrocław Court of Appeal prolonged the applicant’s detention until 22 February 1997, relying, inter alia, on a fear that he would induce witnesses to give false testimony and a risk of absconding if the applicant were to be released. It noted that further expert opinions had to be ordered. The Supreme Court upheld that decision. 14.  On 17 February 1997 the Supreme Court prolonged the applicant’s detention until 30 April 1997. It found that although the proceedings could have been conducted more speedily, the need to obtain evidence in Germany had significantly affected their length. The court further noted that the applicant and other suspected persons’ frequent petitions contesting decisions concerning their detention contributed to the delay, as they had resulted in transferring the case file to the courts, thus making it impossible for the prosecutor to continue investigations. It finally observed that the risk that the applicant would induce witnesses to give false testimony was serious and there was evidence that he had already attempted to do so. 15.  On 1 April 1997 the Wrocław Regional Prosecutor refused the applicant’s request for release, pointing out that he was suspected of a serious offence and it was quite likely that he would be sentenced to imprisonment. On 17 and 22 April 1997 the Wrocław Appellate Prosecutor (prokurator Prokuratury Apelacyjnej) dismissed the applicant and his lawyer’s appeals, relying, inter alia, on the findings of the investigations that the applicant and his brother had had a leading role in the organisation of a drug trafficking network. 16.  On 24 April 1997 the Wrocław Regional Prosecutor submitted the bill of indictment to the Jelenia Góra Regional Court. It contained charges against ten persons. Twenty witnesses were to be heard and 224 pieces of evidence to be examined. 17.  At the beginning of May 1997, the applicant’s counsel requested the applicant’s immediate release, submitting that the last detention order had expired on 30 April 1997 and had not been extended. 18.  On 27 May 1997 the Jelenia Góra Regional Court prolonged the applicant’s detention until 22 February 1998, relying on the grounds invoked by the courts in the previous decisions. 19.  On 2 June 1997 the court dismissed the request for release lodged by the applicant’s counsel, considering that it had not been obliged to take an earlier decision because, before the expiry of the previous detention order, the bill of indictment had been issued. 20.  On 26 June 1997 the Wrocław Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal against the Regional Court’s decision of 27 May 1997. 21.  From 12 to 14 November 1997 the applicant was given access to the case file in the remand centre where he was detained. The file was also made available to him from 8 to 12 December 1997. 22.  The first hearing before the Jelenia Góra Regional Court, scheduled for 17 November 1997, was adjourned due to the absence of one of the accused. 23.  At the hearing held on 15 December 1997, the court refused the request for release lodged by the applicant’s counsel. 24.  On 22 December 1997 it ordered a psychiatric examination of one of the accused. The court adjourned the examination of the case because of the absence of two of the accused, one of whom was being searched for by a “wanted” notice. 25.  Hearings were held on 19 January and 9 February 1998. 26.  On 10 February 1998 the Supreme Court granted the request of the Jelenia Góra Regional Court to prolong the applicant’s detention, relying on the complexity of the case and the reasonable suspicion that he had committed the offence in question. The court prolonged the applicant’s detention until 31 July 1998, instead of 31 December 1998, as requested by the Regional Court, considering that detention on remand is a preventive measure and should not become actual imprisonment. 27.  On 9 March 1998 the court held a hearing. It adjourned the examination of charges against two accused persons to another set of proceedings. 28.  Hearings were held on 23 March, 30 March, 6 April, 11 May, 18 May, 1 June and 15 June 1998. The applicant was given access to the case file on two occasions in April and from 19 to 29 May 1998. 29.  The hearing scheduled for 22 June 1998 was adjourned because of the illness of one of the accused. 30.  On 3 July 1998 the Jelenia Góra Regional Court requested the Supreme Court to prolong the applicant’s detention until 31 December 1998. On 30 July 1998 the Supreme Court granted that request, pointing out that the delay in the proceedings had been caused by difficulties in assembling all the persons concerned at the hearings. It further noted that the accused had contributed to the delay by their petitions challenging the judges. The court finally reminded the trial court that it could use all appropriate measures in order to speed up the proceedings. 31.  The hearing scheduled for 17 August 1998 was adjourned due to the absence of three of the accused. The court held hearings on 24 August and 14 September, as well as on 5 and 19 October 1998. The applicant was given access to the case file from 25 September to 2 October 1998. 32.  Hearings were held on 26 October, 9 November and 30 November 1998. 33.  On 7 December 1998 the Regional Court submitted to the Supreme Court a request for prolongation of the applicant’s detention. 34.  On 14 December 1998 a hearing was held. 35.  On 22 December 1998 the registry of the Supreme Court sent a fax to the remand centre where the applicant was detained with the information that it would deal with the Regional Court’s request on 6 January 1999. The registry stated that until that date the applicant’s detention would be based on Article 2 § 2 of the Law of 6 December 1996, in conjunction with Article 3 § 2 of the Interim Law of 6 June 1997, regardless of the fact that the previous detention order would expire on 31 December 1998. 36.  On 31 December 1998 the applicant requested that he be either provided with a court decision prolonging his detention, or immediately released. His lawyer submitted a similar request. On the same day the applicant was informed about the fax from the Supreme Court. 37.  At the hearing held on 4 January 1999, the applicant’s counsel requested that the applicant and the other accused be immediately released, because their detention lacked any legal basis. The Regional Court rejected the request. 38.  On 6 January 1999 the Supreme Court prolonged the applicant’s detention until 30 April 1999. It observed, however, that the Regional Court could have conducted the proceedings more speedily. 39.  On 11, 18 and 25 January, as well as 8 February and 1 March 1999 the court held hearings. At the hearing held on 8 March 1999, it ordered an expert opinion on graphology.
At the hearing of 15 March 1999 the court imposed fines on two witnesses for their failure to appear before it. 40.  Hearings were held on 22 and 29 March, as well as on 6, 12, 13, 19 and 20 April 1999. The hearings scheduled for 26 and 27 April 1999 were adjourned due to the illness of one of the accused’s counsel. The hearings scheduled for 30 April and 4 May 1999 were adjourned because of, inter alia, the illness of the applicant’s counsel. 41.  On 29 April 1999 the Supreme Court granted the Regional Court’s request for the prolongation of the applicant’s detention until 15 June 1999, relying, inter alia, on the necessity to question a witness. It noted that, after its previous decision of 6 January 1999, the proceedings had accelerated and were likely to end by 15 June 1999. 42.  The Jelenia Góra Regional Court held further hearings on 17 and 20 May 1999. 43.  On 31 May 1999 the court gave judgment on the merits of the case. The applicant was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment and a fine of PLN 250,000. 44.  On 31 May 1999 the same court prolonged the applicant’s detention until 30 September 1999. On 24 June 1999 the Wrocław Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal against that decision. 45.  On 6 September 1999 the Regional Court informed the applicant that the reasoning of the judgment of 31 May 1999 could not be completed within the time-limit laid down in the Code of Criminal Procedure and submitted to the applicant, because of the complexity of the case. It also observed that that time-limit had only an instructional character. On 21 September 1999 a copy of the judgment with the reasoning was sent to the applicant. Subsequently, he lodged an appeal. 46.  On 16 February 2000 the Wrocław Court of Appeal in part amended and in part upheld that judgment. It observed, inter alia, that, contrary to the applicant’s allegations, he had had access to the case file. With reference to the applicant’s complaint that certain pieces of evidence proposed by him had not been examined, the Court of Appeal noted that that evidence did not relate to the subject matter of the proceedings. The court was of the opinion that the applicant’s petitions concerning that evidence had been aimed at the prolongation of the proceedings. It observed that the applicant had requested the preparation of expert opinions on issues already exhaustively examined by experts. The applicant’s counsel lodged with the Supreme Court a cassation appeal against the Court of Appeal’s judgment. He referred, inter alia, to the trial court’s refusal to admit and examine certain items of evidence, as well as its failure to provide the applicant with the possibility to examine certain witnesses at a hearing. 47.  On 30 October 2001 the Supreme Court dismissed that appeal, as well as cassation appeals lodged by two other convicted persons. It observed that witness D.M. had gone into hiding in the course of the proceedings and despite “wanted” notices had not been found. Therefore, the trial court’s decisions rejecting counsel’s requests to have that witness examined, and authorising reliance on the testimony given by her at an earlier stage of the proceedings, had been justified. The Supreme Court noted that another witness, W.M., had been examined on a number of occasions by defence counsel and only at the end of the trial had he refused to further testify.