5.  The applicant was born in 1960 and is currently detained in the Łódź Detention Centre. 6.  On 6 October 2005 the applicant was arrested by the police. 7.  On 7 October 2005 the Łódź District Court decided to detain the applicant on remand in view of the reasonable suspicion that he had committed various offences related to extortions, attempted murders, kidnappings and robberies while acting in an organised criminal gang. 8.  The applicant's pre-trial detention was extended on 20 December 2005 and on 21 March, 20 June, 1 August, 20 September and 20 December 2006. The courts relied on the severity of the possible sentence, which created a risk of the applicant's going into hiding or interfering with the proper course of the proceedings, and the necessity of gathering evidence in this particularly complex case. The court relied heavily on the complexity of the proceedings which involved many co‑accused who had allegedly participated in an organised, armed gang. 9.  On 25 April and 27 June 2007 the Łódź Court of Appeal further extended the pre-trial detention of the applicant and other co-accused. In the meantime additional charges were brought against the applicant. 10.  On 6 September 2007 the applicant and 20 other co‑accused were indicted before the Łódź Regional Court. 11.  Subsequently, the Łódź Regional Court began the trial. The first hearing was held on 8 April 2008. The applicant's detention was subsequently extended on 11 and 19 September 2007, 11 June and on 17 December 2008 and 23 May 2008. 12.  The applicant's pre-trial detention was extended by the Łódź Court of Appeal on 17 December 2008. The court referred to the complexity of the case and stressed that only the application of isolative measure could prevent the applicant from interfering with the course of the proceedings. 13.  On 22 April, 23 September and 22 December 2009 the applicant's detention was again extended. The court referred to the reasons given previously. 14.  The applicant unsuccessfully complained against some of the decisions extending his pre-trial detention. 15.  Between 4 January 2008 and 23 September 2009 the applicant was serving a prison sentence imposed in another set of criminal proceedings against him. 16.  The applicant did not complain about the unreasonable length of the proceedings under the Law of 17 June 2004 on complaints about a breach of the right to a trial within a reasonable time (Ustawa o skardze na naruszenie prawa strony do rozpoznania sprawy w postępowaniu sądowym bez nieuzasadnionej zwłoki – “the 2004 Act”). 17.  The applicant remains in detention and the proceedings are pending before the first-instance court.