Communicated on 6 October 2020 Published on 26 October 2020

FIRST SECTION

Application no. 38539/18 D.Ł . against Poland lodged on 3 August 2018

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant, Mr D. Ł., is a Polish national who was born in 1992 and lives in Radom. He is represented before the Court by Mr M. Pietrzak , a lawyer practising in Warsaw.

The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows.

On 15 November 2015, after his expulsion from Norway where he had resided with his family since 2008, the applicant was detained by the Polish Border Guard ( Straż Graniczna ) at Warsaw Chopin Airport. On the next day the Łódź Appellate Prosecutor ( Prokurator Apelacyjny ) charged him with participation in an armed criminal group committing terrorism-related offences ( Harakat Fajr Ash-Sham al ‑ Islamiyya ). The applicant pleaded not guilty and exercised his right to remain silent.

On 17 November 2015 the Łódź-Śródmieście District Court ( Sąd Rejonowy ) placed him in detention on remand ( tymczasowe aresztowanie ) for a period of 3 months. The court considered that the character and gravity of the charges, as well as the substantial risk of his fleeing supported by the likelihood of a severe penalty being imposed, justified his detention.

On 11 December 2015 the Łódź Regional Court ( Sąd Okręgowy ) dismissed the applicant ’ s lawyer ’ s appeal ( zażalenie ). The applicant was not brought to the appeal hearing and was represented by his lawyer.

The applicant ’ s detention on remand was subsequently extended every three months by the Łódź Regional Court or the Łódź Court of Appeal ( Sąd Apelacyjny ). All his lawyer ’ s appeals against those decisions were dismissed.

Between November 2015 and April 2017 the applicant was placed under the so-called “dangerous detainee” regime ( więzień niebezpieczny ), which resulted in several restrictions being imposed on him, such as placement in solitary confinement under constant CCTV surveillance and subjection to a body search every time he left his cell.

On 11 July 2017 a prosecutor from the Łódź Regional Office of the State Prosecutor ( Wydział Zamiejscowy Prokuratury Krajowej ) lodged a bill of indictment against the applicant. The first hearing took place on 7 November 2017. Most witnesses (apart from those residing in Norway) were heard by 21 February 2018, when the court heard evidence from the applicant ’ s mother and one expert witness.

During a hearing held on 8 October 2018 the court stated that it would not seek an extension of the applicant ’ s detention on remand from the Court of Appeal. The prosecutor appealed against that decision. The Łódź Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal on 5 December 2018.

On 10 October 2018 the applicant was released from Piotrków Trybunalski Remand Centre ( areszt śledczy ) and ordered to report to a police station six times a week, prohibited from contacting certain witnesses and from leaving the country.

On 24 September 2019 the Łódź Regional Court convicted the applicant for participation in an armed crim inal group committing terrorism ‑ related offences and seeking to overthrow a legally-appointed government of the Syrian Arab Republic. He was sentenced to four years ’ imprisonment and the period which he had spent in detention on remand was deducted from his sentence.

Both parties appealed against the first-instance judgment. The appellate proceedings are currently pending.

On 13 February 2019, the applicant was detained by the Internal Security Agency ( Agencja Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego ) and charged with the preparation of an act leading to murder or serious bodily harm to a national group opposed to the idea of Sharia law and attempt to acquire firearms for that purpose. On 15 February 2019 the Łódź-Śródmieście District Court ordered that the applicant be detained on remand.

The relevant domestic law and practice concerning detention on remand ( aresztowanie tymczasowe ), the grounds for its extension, release from detention and rules governing other so-called “preventive measures” ( środki zapobiegawcze ) are set out in the Court ’ s judgments in the cases of Gołek v. Poland (no. 31330/02, §§ 27-33, 25 April 2006); Celejewski v. Poland (no. 17584/04, §§ 22-23, 4 May 2006); and Kauczor v. Poland (no. 45219/06, § 25-33, 3 February 2009).

COMPLAINT

The applicant complains under Article 5 § 3 of the Convention of the excessive length of his initial detention on remand, which lasted from 15 November 2015 until 10 October 2018 .

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

Was the length of the applicant ’ s pre-trial detention in breach of the “reasonable time” requirement of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention?