5.  The applicant was born in 1975 and lives in Plovdiv. 6.  On 22 July 2000 the applicant and another person were charged with extortion. The investigation continued until 7 June 2001, when the prosecution filed an indictment against them with the Plovdiv Regional Court for extortion, illegal possession of firearms and handling of stolen goods. 7.  The Plovdiv Regional Court conducted seventeen hearings, which were scheduled at intervals of one to five months, with the two last hearings being scheduled at an interval of eight months. Four of the hearings were adjourned as the applicant or his counsel failed to attend, while another three were adjourned on request by the other accused or the victim. 8.  On 9 January 2006 the Plovdiv Regional Court convicted the applicant as charged and sentenced him to five years' imprisonment. No appeal was lodged against that judgment and it became final. 9.  The applicant was held in detention from 25 July 2000 to 5 November 2001 and then from 2 January to 6 October 2002, when he was released on bail. 10.  On 10 September 2003 the applicant failed to attend a court hearing. On 12 September 2003 he was arrested in another city under an arrest warrant issued in another set of proceedings several months earlier, after on 26 June 2003 he had been declared a fugitive. 11.  On 10 October 2003 the Plovdiv Regional Court ordered that the applicant be placed in detention because his absence at the hearing of 10 September 2003 had not been justified. On 5 November 2003 that decision was upheld by the Plovdiv Court of Appeal. 12.  The applicant's detention continued until 9 November 2005, when the Plovdiv Regional Court discontinued it, taking into account the fact that the applicant had been sentenced to a term of imprisonment in another set of criminal proceedings. 13.  The applicant requested release on six occasions between 5 November 2003 and 9 November 2005. The Plovdiv Regional Court and the Plovdiv Court of Appeal dismissed his requests and ensuing appeals finding that: 1) he had been charged with serious offences, and 2) there was a risk of him absconding or reoffending as there were other criminal proceedings pending against him and he had earlier convictions, and also because he had once failed to attend a hearing and had been declared a fugitive (see paragraph 10 above). 14.  The courts dismissed the applicant's argument that he had health problems, pointing out, on the basis of the opinion of medical doctors, that he could be treated adequately in prison. To another argument raised by the applicant, namely that his family was in a dire financial situation, the courts responded that the other members of the family, namely his mother and his brother, were capable of taking care of themselves. As to the argument that the applicant's detention had lasted too long, the courts responded that the case was already at the trial stage and that hearings were being scheduled at reasonable intervals.