CASE OF LAKATOS v. HUNGARY
Violation of Article 5 - Right to liberty and security (Article 5-3 - Reasonableness of pre-trial detention)
Carlo Ranzoni;Ganna Yudkivska;Marko Bošnjak;Paulo Pinto De Albuquerque;Georges Ravarani
6. The applicant was born in 1986 and lives in Gyál. 7. On 26 February 2011 the Pest Central District Court remanded the applicant in custody under Article 129 § 2 (b) and (c) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, on suspicion of aggravated murder within the meaning of Article 166 § 1 of the Criminal Code. It summarised the suspicions against him, referred to police reports, an autopsy report, the victim’s medical documents, examinations of various exhibits and witness testimonies, and concluded that there was a reasonable suspicion that the applicant had poisoned the victim on 8 April 2010. The court found it established that there was a need for the applicant’s detention, because otherwise he would tamper with evidence by exerting pressure on the witnesses, as evidenced by his previous conduct whereby he had threatened them. It dismissed an argument by the applicant that he had committed the criminal offence more than a year before, thus the prosecutor’s office had erred in stating that he could tamper with evidence or influence witnesses. The court also held that the applicant’s “unclear” financial situation and the severity of the possible punishment demonstrated that there was a risk of his absconding. The court gave no consideration to an application by the applicant’s lawyer for the applicant to be placed under house arrest. 8. An appeal against that decision was dismissed on 3 March 2011. 9. On 21 March 2011 the Buda Central District Court extended the applicant’s pre-trial detention until 26 May 2011. It noted again that because of the severity of the possible punishment and the fact that the applicant had neither a permanent address nor a regular income, there were grounds to believe that he would abscond. The court held that there was a risk of his interfering with the investigation if he were to threaten the witnesses or destroy physical evidence. 10. The applicant appealed, arguing that the conditions for pre-trial detention had not been fulfilled because there was no risk of his absconding or influencing witnesses. He argued that his well-established personal circumstances – the fact that he lived with his common-law wife and two children, his parents, and his brother’s family – and the fact that he had no criminal record excluded the risk of his absconding. He further submitted that he had cooperated with the investigating authorities. Alternatively, the applicant requested that he be released and placed under house arrest. 11. The first-instance decision was upheld on appeal by the Budapest Regional Court on 15 April 2011, and the court’s reasoning was that the public interest in the applicant being detained was more important than his interest in his right to liberty being respected. 12. On 23 May 2011 the Buda Central District Court extended the applicant’s detention until 26 August 2011. The court maintained its previous reasons justifying the need for his detention. It emphasised that there was a risk of his absconding, owing to the severity of the possible punishment and the fact that he had no declared employment and had previously not been reachable at his permanent address. It added that, if released, the applicant might influence the witnesses or destroy evidence. 13. On 22 June 2011 the Budapest Regional Court upheld that decision. 14. On 24 August 2011 the Buda Central District Court extended the applicant’s detention until 26 November 2011 under Article 129 § 2 (b) (risk of absconding) and (c) (risk of collusion) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. As regards the risk of absconding, the court found that although the applicant had previously not been reachable at his permanent address and had only had temporary jobs, his temporary residence had been known and he had no criminal record. However, given the seriousness of the potential punishment and his “unstable” financial circumstances, his presence at the proceedings could only be ensured through the most restrictive measure. As regards the risk of collusion, the court dismissed an argument by the applicant’s lawyer that the prosecution authorities should have questioned all the witnesses by that stage of the proceedings. It held that although the majority of the witnesses had been heard, further questioning could still be necessary. 15. On 26 August 2011 the Budapest Regional Court upheld the lower court’s decision under Article 129 § 2 (b) and (c) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 16. Subsequently, the applicant’s pre-trial detention was extended on a number of occasions. In particular, on 23 November 2011 the Buda Central District Court extended his detention until 26 February 2012. The court found that he had failed to attach a “hosting declaration” (befogadó nyilatkozat) and a declaration of his host’s financial capacity to his application to be placed under house arrest. According to the court, although the investigation was about to conclude, based on previous witness testimonies, there was a risk that the applicant would intimidate witnesses. It also held that this last reason could justify the applicant being detained until the closure of the investigation. That decision was upheld on appeal by the Budapest Regional Court on 1 December 2011. Although by that time the applicant had submitted a hosting declaration, the appeal court objected to his release for the reason that he had not provided a declaration of his host’s financial capacity. 17. Furthermore, on 24 February 2012 the Budapest High Court held that the unclarified financial situation of the applicant and the seriousness of the crime substantiated the risk of his absconding. It also found, without giving further reasoning, that there were still grounds to believe that at that stage of the proceedings the applicant would influence the witnesses. In an appeal, the applicant argued that the investigating authorities had implemented no procedural measures, the proceedings had been unreasonably lengthy, and previously he had always been reachable at his temporary residence. As regards the risk of his influencing witnesses, the applicant submitted that no such risk could be established two years after the alleged criminal offence. On 8 March 2012 the Budapest Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant’s appeal, stating that the investigation was being conducted in a timely manner and witness testimonies had previously evidenced that the applicant had tried to exert pressure on the witnesses. 18. On 25 April 2012 the applicant’s pre-trial detention was extended by the Budapest High Court until 26 June 2012. The court maintained that, under Article 129 § 2 (b) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, his detention was still necessary because of the risk of his absconding. It considered that the applicant had no “financial or essential” ties counterbalancing the risk of him escaping an eventual serious punishment. Although he had family ties, a child who was a minor, and a relative willing to give assurances to provide for him if he were released, given the seriousness of the charges, the gravity of the possible punishment and his unstable financial circumstances, there was a real risk that he would abscond. However, the court did not find that the risk of collusion (Article 129 § 2 (c) of the Code of Criminal Procedure) was substantiated, since there was no way to influence any of the investigative measures which the prosecution had relied on. In particular, the witness who the investigating authorities still intended to hear was unlikely to testify, given the fact that he was ill and unreachable. The court also considered that although it was likely that the applicant’s acquaintances and relatives had tried to influence witnesses in the two years following the commission of the crime, there was no reliable information that this had actually taken place, and a hypothetical risk of further attempts to do so could not substantiate the risk of collusion. 19. That decision was upheld on appeal on 7 May 2012. 20. On 22 June 2012 the applicant’s pre-trial detention was extended until 26 August 2012. The court agreed with the applicant’s argument that his unsettled personal circumstances could not be relied on to justify his detention after the passing of a lengthy period of time following his arrest. It nonetheless held that, in the absence of any financial ties, his family ties could not counterbalance the risk of his absconding, also having regard to the severity to the potential punishment. 21. That decision was upheld on appeal by the Budapest Court of Appeal on 28 June 2012, and an appeal by the applicant to the effect that less restrictive measures could be applied in his case was dismissed. 22. The Budapest High Court extended the applicant’s pre-trial detention on 21 August 2012, reiterating the same arguments as before. It dismissed the applicant’s arguments that no investigative measure had been implemented for a considerable period of time. It also found that the hosting declaration of the applicant’s family member, the fact that he was raising a child who was a minor, and the fact that his legal residence had also been clarified were irrelevant, and did not diminish the risk of his absconding. The second-instance court upheld the decision on 24 August 2012. 23. On 24 October 2012 the applicant’s pre-trial detention was extended again for a month under Article 129 § 2 (b) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, the Budapest High Court expressed doubts as to whether there was enough evidence to conclude that there was a reasonable suspicion that the applicant had committed the crime. It dismissed an argument by the prosecutor’s office that the applicant would hinder the investigation. It considered that, irrespective of the seriousness of the charges, it appeared that there was less risk of his absconding, since he was raising two children who were minors and he had no criminal record. On appeal, the Budapest Court of Appeal upheld the first-instance judgment but extended the applicant’s detention by two months. 24. On 21 December 2012 the applicant’s detention was extended; the Budapest High Court again referred to the fact that, at the time of his arrest, the applicant had been unreachable at his permanent address and had been earning a living from temporary jobs, which, taken together with the severity of the potential punishment, substantiated the risk of his absconding. The decision was upheld on appeal on 10 January 2013. 25. On 22 February 2013 the Budapest High Court released the applicant from pre-trial detention and placed him on bail under house arrest. According to that decision, besides the suspicion against the applicant, the only grounds for restricting his liberty were the risk of his absconding, given the gravity of the offence, and this in itself could not justify his continued pre-trial detention. On appeal, the Budapest Court of Appeal reversed the first-instance decision and placed the applicant in detention on 28 March 2013. It noted that, given the seriousness of the offence, there was a danger of his absconding, irrespective of his family ties. 26. On 23 April 2013 the Budapest High Court released the applicant from detention upon his giving an undertaking not to leave his place of residence. Relying on the Court’s case-law, the High Court found that pretrial detention could only serve as a measure of last resort, and the applicant’s continued detention would only serve as an anticipated punishment. The decision was overturned by the Budapest Court of Appeal on 26 April 2016, and the applicant was placed in detention for the same reasons as those given before. 27. On 17 June 2013 the Budapest Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office preferred a bill of indictment. 28. On 25 June 2013 the Budapest High Court extended the applicant’s detention until the date of the first-instance court’s judgment, under Article 129 § 2 (b) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (risk of absconding), for essentially the same reasons as those given before. 29. On 28 January the applicant applied for release, but the application was dismissed on 18 February by the Budapest High Court on the grounds that, given the gravity of the offence and the complexity of the case, pretrial detention did not constitute an anticipated punishment. That decision was upheld on appeal by the Budapest Court of Appeal on 18 February 2014. A further application by the applicant of 18 April 2014 was dismissed on 8 April 2014 (the dismissal was upheld by the second-instance court on 24 April 2014) on the grounds that the applicant had not relied on new circumstances warranting his release. 30. The applicant’s detention was reviewed on 16 July 2014 by the Budapest Court of Appeal. It held that the gravity of the offence, the applicant’s lack of financial resources and essential ties, and the fact that he had only notified the authorities of his place of residence once he had been placed in detention substantiated the risk of his absconding. 31. On appeal, that decision was upheld by the Kúria on 24 September 2014, which endorsed the reasons given by the lower court. The Kúria also found that the applicant’s pre-trial detention was both necessary and proportionate, and no less restrictive measure would be sufficient to ensure the purpose of the criminal proceedings. 32. On 29 October 2014 the applicant was found guilty of aggravated murder and sentenced to eighteen years’ imprisonment by the Budapest High Court.