FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 20715/09
by Aleksander WINIARSKI
against Poland
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 2 November 2010 as a Chamber composed of:
Nicolas Bratza, President,
Lech Garlicki,
David Thór Björgvinsson,
Päivi Hirvelä,
Ledi Bianku,
Nebojša Vučinić,
Vincent Anthony de Gaetano, judges,
and Fatoş Aracı, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 20 March 2009,
Having regard to the declaration submitted by the respondent Government on 23 July 2010 requesting the Court to strike the application out of the list of cases and the applicant’s reply to that declaration,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicant, Mr Aleksander Winiarski, is a Polish national who was born in 1980 and lives in Zabrze. The Polish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr J. Wołąsiewicz of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The circumstances of the case
The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
On 22 August 2005 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of drug‑trafficking. On 23 August 2005 the Katowice District Court remanded him in custody in view of the reasonable suspicion that he had committed drug-trafficking offences.
On 14 November 2005 the Katowice Regional Court prolonged the applicant’s detention until 15 January 2006. It noted that witnesses’ statements and the results of searches pointed to a strong likelihood that the applicant had committed the offences in question. In addition, there was a risk that the applicant might go into hiding or tamper with evidence, having regard to the fact that he was a member of a criminal gang and not all persons involved in the drug-trafficking had yet been identified.
On 3 January 2006 the Regional Court extended the applicant’s detention until 31 March 2006, relying on the similar grounds. On 27 March 2006 the applicant’s detention was prolonged until 30 June 2006. The Regional Court invoked the significant social danger of the offences with which the applicant had been charged.
On 19 June 2006 the Regional Court prolonged the applicant’s detention until 23 August 2006.
On 17 August 2006 the Katowice Court of Appeal extended the applicant’s detention until 23 November 2006. It noted that the severity of the anticipated penalty might induce him to obstruct the proceedings. Furthermore, the risk of obstructing the investigation flowed from the fact that the applicant had been charged with commission of offences as a member of a criminal gang. The Court of Appeal found that the investigation was particularly complex within the meaning of Article 263 § 4 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It required, inter alia, seeking legal assistance from the Dutch prosecuting authorities.
On 22 November 2006 the Court of Appeal extended the applicant’s detention until 30 December 2006. In addition to the grounds previously relied on, it considered that the applicant’s detention was justified under Article 258 § 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure since that provision established a presumption to the effect that the likelihood of a severe penalty being imposed on the applicant might induce him to obstruct the proceedings. The court further underlined the particular complexity of the case which concerned 43 suspects of 21 were detained on remand.
On an unspecified date in December 2006 the prosecution filed a bill of indictment with the Katowice Regional Court. The applicant was charged with a number of drug-trafficking offences and having acted in an organised criminal group.
On 28 December 2006 the Katowice Regional Court prolonged the applicant’s detention until 30 June 2007. Relying on the grounds which had been invoked previously, it held that detention on remand was the only measure which could secure the proper conduct of the proceedings given, in particular, the risk of tampering with evidence as the defendants had been members of the same criminal gang.
On 11 June 2007 the Regional Court extended the applicant’s detention until 22 August 2007. I
