CASE OF ZIELIŃSKI v. POLAND
Violation of Article 5 - Right to liberty and security (Article 5-3 - Length of pre-trial detention)
Aleš Pejchal;Armen Harutyunyan
4. The applicant was born in 1954 and lives in Gdynia. 5. On 2 January 2007 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of having committed homicide together with other persons. 6. On 5 January 2007 the Gdynia District Court (Sąd Rejonowy) remanded him in custody. The court stressed the need to ensure the proper conduct of the proceedings, given that extensive evidence had still to be obtained in the case. It also referred to the fact that the proceedings in question concerned several alleged accomplices. The court further relied on the likelihood that a severe penalty would be imposed on the applicant. 7. On 12 February 2007 the applicant applied for the preventive measure to be lifted or varied. On 15 February the District Prosecutor refused the request, finding that the grounds for the imposition of this measure remained valid. 8. The applicant’s detention was further extended by decisions of the Gdańsk Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy) of 20 March, 19 June and 21 August 2007. The applicant appealed against all of those decisions. His appeals were dismissed by the Gdańsk Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny) on 4 May, 1 August and 19 September 2007 respectively. The courts repeatedly relied in their decisions on the strong suspicion that the applicant had committed the offence in question, the likelihood of a severe prison sentence being imposed on him and the need to secure the proper conduct of the investigation, especially the need to obtain further expert evidence. 9. On 17 September 2007 the applicant again applied for release. His application was refused on 21 September 2007 by the Gdynia District Prosecutor. 10. On 27 November 2007 the Gdańsk Regional Court further extended the applicant’s detention until 31 March 2008. The applicant appealed, unsuccessfully. 11. On an unspecified date in late 2007 a bill of indictment was lodged with the Gdańsk Regional Court. The applicant was charged with homicide committed together with two other co-accused. 12. The applicant’s detention was continually extended during the course of the trial. 13. On 4 August 2008 the applicant requested the court to release him on health grounds. On 19 August 2008 the trial court refused his request. It relied on the medical certificate issued by a prison doctor, stating that the applicant could be adequately treated in detention. 14. On 25 September 2008 the Gdańsk Regional Court gave judgment (case no. IV 457/07). The applicant was convicted as charged and sentenced to fifteen years’ imprisonment. He lodged an appeal. 15. On 13 May 2009 the Gdańsk Court of Appeal quashed the impugned judgment and remitted the case for retrial (case no. II AKa 45/09). 16. The applicant’s detention was continually extended by the domestic courts, pending his appeal and in the course of the retrial. In particular, on 24 August 2009 the Gdańsk Regional Court extended his detention until 31 December 2009. The applicant appealed against this decision. On 23 September 2009 the Gdańsk Court of Appeal upheld the impugned decision, finding that the reasonable suspicion that the applicant had committed the offence in question persisted, despite the fact that the judgment convicting the applicant had been quashed. The Court of Appeal further considered that the Regional Court had correctly relied on the severity of the anticipated penalty as the principal ground for the applicant’s continuing detention and on the risk of the obstruction of the proceedings. 17. On 16 March 2010 the Gdańsk Regional Court gave judgment (case no. XIV K 48/09). The applicant was again convicted as charged and sentenced to twelve years’ imprisonment. The applicant lodged an appeal. 18. On 10 November 2010 the Gdańsk Court of Appeal quashed the judgment and remitted the case for retrial (case no. II AKa 277/10). 19. On 23 March 2012 the Gdańsk Regional Court further extended the applicant’s detention, reiterating the grounds given in its initial decisions. The applicant appealed unsuccessfully. 20. During the retrial proceedings the Gdańsk Regional Court held fifteen hearings in total. 21. On 12 July 2012 the court gave judgment (case no. XIV K 210/10). The applicant was again convicted and sentenced to twelve years’ imprisonment. He lodged an appeal against that judgment. 22. On 26 October 2012 the Gdańsk Regional Court extended the applicant’s detention until 30 December 2012. On 13 November 2012 the Gdańsk Court of Appeal upheld the impugned decision. It considered that the applicant’s involvement in the offences with which he had been charged had been supported by the non-final judgment of 12 July 2012, in which he had been convicted and had received a severe sentence. The court also held that further detention on remand was the only preventive measure capable of securing the proper course of the proceedings until the delivery of a final judgment. 23. On 6 June 2013 the Gdańsk Court of Appeal partly allowed the applicant’s appeal (case no. II AKa 84/13). The appellate court upheld the conviction but reclassified the offence as involuntary manslaughter (nieumyślne spowodowanie śmierci). The applicant’s sentence was reduced to four years’ imprisonment. The applicant was released on the same day.