Communicated on 13 November 2017

FIRST SECTION

Application no. 72408/14 ÄŒaslav KUZMANOVIK against the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia lodged on 13 November 2014

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The application concerns the applicant’s pre-trial detention in the criminal proceedings against him and six other individuals on charges of trafficking in valuable State-owned objects of cultural heritage ( отуѓување на културно наследство од особено значење во државна сопственост ) and withholding archaeological artefacts ( прикривање ).

The applicant’s pre-trial detention lasted between 27 February 2014 and 20 March 2015, the latter being the date when he was convicted by the Skopje Court of First Instance and sentenced to seven years and eight months’ imprisonment. Until 23 December 2014 the applicant’s pre-trial detention was based on the risk of absconding, interfering with the proceedings and reoffending. All court orders extending the applicant’s detention used almost identical language referring mostly to the complexity of the case, the nature of the offence and the severity of the potential penalty. In a decision of 23 December 2014, the court relied, for the first time, on the fact that the applicant had title to an immovable property of considerable value and had relatives living abroad to justify the risk of absconding. After this date the applicant’s pre-trial detention was extended solely on the grounds of risk of absconding.

QUESTION tO THE PARTIES

Were the grounds given by the domestic courts concerning the applicant’s prolonged pre-trial detention “relevant and sufficient”, as required by Article 5 § 3 of the Convention (see Buzadji v. the Republic of Moldova [GC], no. 23755/07 , ECHR 2016 (extracts), Miladinov and Others v. the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia , nos. 46398/09, 50570/09 and 50576/09, 24 April 2014, and Vasilkoski and Others v. the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia , no. 28169/08 , 28 October 2010) ?