Communicated on 12 March 2019
FOURTH SECTION
Application no. 13394/18
Ronaldas MIKOČIŪNAS v. Lithuania
and 2 other applications
(see list appended)
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The applications concern the length of pre-trial detention. All three applicants, accused of drug-trafficking, were arrested on 26 April 2015 and their detention was continually extended. The last decision to extend their pre-trial detention for three months was taken on 30 March 2018. The applicants were found guilty by the Kaunas Regional Court judgment of 5 July 2018 and sentenced to 14, 13 and 7 years of imprisonment respectively. The court took into account the length of proceedings and that the applicants had been detained for a long time and stated that it imposed sentences that were either minimal or close to minimal in accordance with domestic law.
QUESTIONS tO THE PARTIES
1. Was the length of the applicants’ detention on remand in breach of the “reasonable time” requirement of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention (see Jėčius v. Lithuania, no. 34578/97, § 93, ECHR 2000‑IX; Balčiūnas v. Lithuania, no. 17095/02, §§ 77-80, 20 July 2010, and Lisovskij v. Lithuania no. 36249/14, §§ 65-68, 2 May 2017)?
2. In this context, were the competent domestic authorities’ actions sufficiently prompt in the conduct of the criminal proceedings against the applicants during the period of their detention on remand (see Labita v. Italy [GC], no. 26772/95, § 153, ECHR 2000‑IV; Arutyunyan v. Russia, no. 48977/09, § 109, 10 January 2012; Dervishi v. Croatia, no. 67341/10, §§ 139-144, 25 September 2012; Gábor Nagy v. Hungary (no. 2), no. 73999/14, §§ 77-79, 11 April 2017; Podeschi v. San Marino, no. 66357/14, §§ 136 and 154, 13 April 2017; Lisovskij, cited above, §§ 68, 78‑80; and Mindadze and Nemsitsveridze v. Georgia, no. 21571/05, § 125, 1 June 2017)?
APPENDIX
LIST OF CASES
No.
Application no.
Lodged on
Applicant
Date of birth
Place of residence
Represented by
1.
13394/18
12/03/2019
Ronaldas MIKOČIŪNAS
11/11/1985
Kaunas
L. Belevičius
2.
46114/18
20/09/2018
Edikas MIKUČIAUSKAS
19/03/1971
Kaunas
L. Belevičius
3.
46122/18
20/09/2018
Mindaugas ALIŠAUSKAS
05/09/1979
Kaunas
L. Belevičius
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy