8.  The applicant was born in 1967 and lives in Dębica. 9.  On 10 October 1995 the applicant and other suspects were arrested on suspicion of assault and inflicting torture. On 11 October 1995 the applicant was remanded in custody by the Tarnów District Prosecutor, who referred to the strong probability of his guilt, the gravity of the charges against him and the high risk of his hindering the proper conduct of the proceedings by exerting pressure on witnesses. His detention was ordered for a period of three months. On the same day the applicant lodged an appeal against the detention order, questioning the credibility of the evidence of the victims of the alleged assault and claiming that he was innocent. He also referred to the difficult situation of his family. 10.  On 12 October 1995 the applicant requested the Tarnów Regional Prosecutor to order his release. On 20 October 1995 the Tarnów Regional Court dismissed this request. It considered that the victims of the assault had given evidence pointing to the applicant’s guilt. It referred to the serious nature of the charges and expressed the view that his case did not disclose any of the grounds provided by Article 218 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for challenging the lawfulness of his detention. 11.  On 24 October 1995 the Tarnów Regional Court dismissed the applicant’s appeal of 11 October 1995, referring to its decision of 20 October 1995. 12.  On 24 October 1995 the Tarnów District Prosecutor charged the wives of three suspects with the offence of inducing a victim of the assault to give false testimony. 13.  On 3 November 1995 the applicant requested the prosecutor to release him on bail. This was refused on 6 November 1995 on the ground that the reasons for the applicant’s detention had not ceased to exist and that there were no circumstances justifying his release under Article 218 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The applicant appealed against this decision, but his appeal was dismissed on 15 November 1995. 14.  On 14 November 1995 the victims of the assault changed their testimony and withdrew charges against the suspects. They had left Poland and their whereabouts were unknown. 15.  On 1 December 1995 the applicant unsuccessfully requested the prosecutor to replace the detention with police supervision and bail. 16.  On 3 January 1996 the Tarnów Regional Court prolonged the applicant’s detention until 10 February 1996. It noted that the investigation had not yet been completed since one of the co-accused had lodged a complaint concerning an anonymous witness and, in addition, some of the witnesses, whose whereabouts were unknown, had still not been heard. It further noted that, in spite of the fact that the victims of the assault had changed their initial testimony, there were still serious grounds for believing that the applicant had committed the offences in question. The court also observed that the law did not require that the evidence in support of detention had to be such as to justify a conviction. 17.  The applicant’s appeal against this decision was dismissed on 24 January 1996 by the Kraków Court of Appeal. 18.  On 6 February 1996 the Tarnów District Prosecutor lodged a bill of indictment with the Tarnów Regional Court. It comprised charges in respect of seven persons. The prosecutor requested the summoning of 19 witnesses. 19.  On 26 February 1996 the applicant requested the court to quash the detention or replace it with a more lenient measure. The court dismissed this request reiterating the arguments set out in the decisions of 20 and 24 October 1995 and of 3 January 1996. 20.  The first hearing was held on 1 April 1996. On 24 April 1996 the applicant requested the court to quash his detention or to replace it with a less severe measure. His request was dismissed on 26 April 1996 by the Tarnów Regional Court, which noted that the investigative proceedings had not yet been completed and that there were more witnesses to be questioned. 21.  The trial continued on 7 June 1996. On 11 June 1996 the applicant asked to be released. The next hearing was held on 17 June 1996 and adjourned sine die.
On 10 July 1996 the Kraków Court of Appeal upheld the decision of 17 June 1996 refusing to quash the applicant’s detention. On 19 July 1996 the applicant lodged with the court a request for release on bail. His request was refused on 23 July 1996. 22.  On 8 August 1996 the Kraków Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant’s appeal against the decision of 23 July 1996 refusing to release him. In the court’s view, the final verification of the evidence was not possible at that stage of the proceedings and there was no clear indication that the charges laid against the applicant were unfounded. The court also observed that the conditions for release referred to in Article 218 of the Code of Civil Procedure were not satisfied since effective steps were being taken to support the applicant’s family. 23.  On 22 and 26 August and 2 September 1996 the applicant lodged complaints with the Tarnów Regional Court, the Minister of Justice and the Tarnów Regional Prosecutor, complaining about the slow progress in the proceedings. He alleged that the prosecuting authorities had breached his rights guaranteed by the Convention. He also submitted that he and his family had suffered undue hardship since there were no grounds whatsoever justifying his detention. 24.  On 4 September 1996 the Tarnów Regional Court dismissed the applicant’s request for release of 22 August 1996. It observed that the victims of the assault had left the country and could not be heard. The applicant had failed to indicate any new circumstances justifying his request. 25.  On 24 September 1996 the Tarnów Regional Court convicted the applicant of assault and sentenced him to six years’ imprisonment and a fine. On the same day the court decided to uphold his detention within the meaning of the Polish Code of Criminal Procedure. The prosecutor and the defence counsel lodged an appeal against the judgment. 26.  On 20 March 1997 an appellate hearing was held. 27.  On 27 May 1997 the Kraków Court of Appeal quashed the judgment of 24 September 1996 and referred the case back to the Regional Court. On the same day the Court of Appeal decided to uphold the applicant’s detention on remand, having regard to the existence of a strong probability of his guilt, the necessity to secure the conduct of the proceedings and to the fact that there were no circumstances referred to in Section 218 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 28.  On 24 June 1997 the applicant lodged a complaint with the Kraków Court of Appeal, claiming that he had been detained in breach of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention. 29.  On 9 July 1997 the Kraków Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant’s request for release, considering that, in the circumstances of the case, and given the number of witnesses to be heard, his continuing detention had not exceeded a reasonable time; nor did his family situation militate against his continuing detention. In the court’s opinion, the co-accused had contributed to the delay in the proceedings by submitting evidence motions at the late stage of the trial. 30.  On 28 July 1997 the Tarnów Regional Court refused to release the applicant, considering that his continuing detention was justified in view of the serious charges confirmed by the evidence and in order to secure the proper conduct of the proceedings. The court was of the opinion that although the applicant’s family situation was difficult, it was not sufficient to justify his release. 31.  On 7 August 1997 the president of the Tarnów Prison informed the applicant that there were no legal grounds for his release. 32.  On 12 September 1997 the Tarnów Regional Court dismissed the applicant’s request for release, considering that the law did not require that the evidence in support of detention had to be such as to justify conviction. The court observed that even if the Court of Appeal had quashed the first-instance judgment, it had not decided to release the applicant. The court referred to the risk of severe punishment for the accused and to the need to secure the proper conduct of the proceedings. The applicant’s family situation was difficult but not critical. 33.  In a letter to the applicant of 25 September 1997 the President of the Kraków Court of Appeal recalled that the grounds for his detention on remand had been repeatedly examined by the courts during numerous proceedings held on 20.10.1995, 3.01.1996, 24.01.1996, 28.02.1996, 26.04.1996, 17.06.1996, 23.07.1996, 4.09.1996, 24.09.1996, 14.10.1996, 24.01.1997, 27.05.1997, 9.07.1997, 28.07.1997 and 12.09.1997. 34.  On 29 September and 2 October 1997 hearings were held. On 2 October 1997 the Tarnów Regional Court refused to release the applicant, considering that, in view of the sufficient likelihood of his guilt and the seriousness of the charges, his detention was warranted. As regards the applicant’s situation, difficult as it might be, it was not so critical as to justify his release. 35.  On 14 and 15 October 1997 hearings were held. On 15 October the court dismissed the applicant’s request for release, repeating the grounds stated in previous decisions. 36.  On 29 October and 3 November 1997 the applicant lodged requests for release, referring to Section 213 § 1 and Section 214 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 37.  On 6 November 1997 the applicant asked the court to stay the proceedings. At the hearing held on 19 November 1997 the court refused to do so or to release him, referring to the grounds invoked in previous decisions. The subsequent hearing was held on 8 December 1997. The court decided to read out the testimonies of the victims of the assault and to close the trial. 38.  By a judgment of 10 December 1997 of the Tarnów Regional Court the applicant was found guilty of the charges against him and sentenced to six year’s imprisonment. Additionally, the court deprived him of his civic rights for three years. The court decided that the applicant’s further detention was unnecessary in view of the fact that the proceedings had been completed, that his family was in a difficult situation and that he had spent over two years in the detention centre. The applicant was released on the same day. 39.  By a judgment of 17 June 1998 of the Kraków Court of Appeal, the applicant was eventually acquitted of all the charges against him as the court considered that there was no sufficient evidence of his guilt.