CASE OF RAMBIERT v. POLAND
No violation of Article 5 - Right to liberty and security (Article 5-3 - Length of pre-trial detention)
George Nicolaou;Krzysztof Wojtyczek;Ledi Bianku
5. The applicant was born in 1980 and lives in Puck. 6. On 19 September 2007 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking and of membership in an organised criminal group. The investigation against him and several other persons was conducted by the Puck District Prosecutor (Prokurator Rejonowy). 7. On 21 September 2007 the Wejherowo District Court (Sąd Rejonowy) remanded the applicant in custody, relying on the reasonable suspicion that he had committed the offences in question. It considered that keeping the applicant in detention was necessary to secure the proper conduct of the proceedings, given the risk that he might induce witnesses to give false testimony. It also stressed the severity of the anticipated sentence and the complex nature of the case. 8. The applicant’s pretrial detention was later extended by the Gdańsk Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy) on 6 December 2007 and on 11 March and 10 June 2008. On 10 September 2008 the Gdańsk Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny) further extended the applicant’s detention. The courts repeatedly relied on the original grounds given for the applicant’s detention. They also emphasised the need to secure the process of obtaining evidence as the case concerned activities of an organised criminal group. 9. On an unspecified date in 2008 the investigation was taken over by the State Prosecutor (Prokurator Krajowy). 10. On 5 December 2008 a bill of indictment against the applicant and seventeen other persons was lodged with the Gdańsk Regional Court. The applicant was charged with numerous counts of drug trafficking and with membership in an organised criminal group. The bill of indictment stated that six accused had pleaded guilty and they agreed to the sentences indicated by the prosecution authorities under Article 335 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (wniosek o skazanie). It was accompanied by 20 volumes of the case file. The prosecutor requested the court to hear 48 witnesses. 11. During the court proceedings the applicant’s detention pending trial was further extended by decisions of the Gdańsk Regional Court delivered on 11 December 2008 and 12 March and 9 June 2009; and by the Gdańsk Court of Appeal’s decisions of 26 August and 25 November 2009, 23 February, 19 May, 25 August and 19 October 2010, 12 January and 23 March 2011. The applicant’s appeals against decisions prolonging his detention and all his subsequent applications for release were unsuccessful. The courts continually justified their decisions by the existence of a reasonable suspicion that the applicant had committed the offences. They also referred to the likelihood of a heavy prison sentence being imposed on the applicant after conviction. They further relied on the need to secure the proper conduct of the proceedings, emphasising that the accused and subsequently the key witnesses in the case had to testify before the trial court. They considered that the risk that the applicant might tamper with evidence or otherwise obstruct the proceedings resulted, in particular, from the fact that he had been charged with membership in an organised criminal group. Finally, they found that the trial court conducted the proceedings in a correct and timely manner. They noted in this regard the complex character of the case and the voluminous documentation gathered (on 23 March 2011 the case file comprised 36 volumes). They also referred to multiple procedural motions of the accused and their lawyers. 12. Between 17 March 2010 and 17 March 2011 the applicant served a prison sentence imposed in another set of criminal proceedings against him. On 17 March 2011 he started serving another prison sentence. 13. Meanwhile, on 19 February 2009 the trial court decided to examine the charges against six coaccused in separate proceedings. 14. On 15 April 2009 the court scheduled the first hearing for 13 May 2009. It also scheduled five further hearings. 15. The hearings scheduled for 13 and 28 May 2009 were adjourned due to the absence of one of the accused. 16. The trial was eventually started on 9 July 2009. Subsequently, the trial court held ten further hearings by the end of 2009. 17. In 2010 the court held sixteen hearings altogether. Four of the scheduled hearings were adjourned due to absences or sickleaves of the accused or their lawyers. 18. In 2011 eight hearings were held by 20 May 2011. On that date the Gdańsk Regional Court lifted the applicant’s detention on remand. 19. The proceedings are still pending before the firstinstance court.