4.  The applicant was born in 1972 and is currently detained in Poznań Remand Centre. 5.  On 3 September 1998 the applicant was charged with theft and extortion. 6.  On 10 February 1999 the prosecution filed a bill of indictment with the Gdańsk-Północ District Court (Sąd Rejonowy). The applicant was indicted as charged. 7.  On 5 December 2003 the Gdańsk-Północ District Court held the first hearing. It subsequently held some twenty hearings. 8.  On 3 October 2005 the Gdańsk-Północ District Court convicted the applicant of theft and extortion and sentenced him to two years and six months’ imprisonment. The applicant appealed. 9.  On 20 June 2007 the Gdańsk Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy) quashed the impugned judgment and remitted the case. 10.  Hearings scheduled for 29 October and 7 December 2007 were adjourned as the applicant had failed to appear. 11.  On 11 February 2008 the presiding judge scheduled the next hearing for 12 March 2008 and ordered that the applicant be brought to a hearing by the police. 12.  Hearings scheduled for 12 March, 25 April and 3 June 2008 were adjourned as the applicant had failed to appear. 13.  On 9 July 2008 the Gdańsk-Północ District Court issued an arrest warrant against the applicant. 14.  On 25 May 2009 the applicant was arrested and remanded in custody. 15.  During the court proceedings the courts further extended the applicant’s pre-trial detention on several occasions. The applicant remains detained until the present date. Since his arrest the applicant has been serving a prison sentence of seven and a half years imposed on him in another set of criminal proceedings. 16.  A hearing scheduled for 18 August 2009 was cancelled as the applicant could not be transported to the courthouse. 17.  On 9 October 2009 the applicant’s legal-aid lawyer requested the court to adjourn a hearing as he had not been granted a visit with his client and therefore could not have discussed with him a defence strategy. The court adjourned a hearing until 17 November 2009. 18.  On 17 November 2009 the court held the first hearing. It subsequently held some twenty five hearings. 19.  The proceedings are still pending before the Gdańsk-Północ District Court. 20.  On an unspecified date the applicant lodged with the Gdańsk Regional Court a complaint under section 5 of the Law of 17 June 2004 on complaints about a breach of the right to an investigation conducted or supervised by a prosecutor and to a trial within a reasonable time (Ustawa o skardze na naruszenie prawa strony do rozpoznania sprawy w postępowaniu przygotowawczym prowadzonym lub nadzorowanym przez prokuratora i postępowaniu sądowym bez nieuzasadnionej zwłoki) (“the 2004 Act”). 21.  On 25 May 2010 the Gdańsk Regional Court dismissed the applicant’s complaint. The court noted that delays in the proceedings were imputable to the applicant who had failed to appear for several hearings and had gone into hiding for over a year.