PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 34907/05) against the Republic of Poland lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a Polish national, Mr Leszek Hinczewski (“the applicant”), on 18 September 2005.

The applicant was represented by Mr J. Zaleski, a lawyer practising in Katowice. The Polish Government were represented by their Agent, Mr J. Wołąsiewicz, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The applicant alleged, in particular, that he was prevented from voting in the 2005 Parliamentary Elections in Poland.

On 6 November 2007 the Court decided to give notice of the application to the Government. It also decided to examine the merits of the application at the same time as its admissibility (Article 29 § 3).

THE FACTS

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

The applicant was born in 1971 and lives in Jastrzębie Zdrój. A The criminal proceedings

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

On 2 May 1990 the applicant was arrested by the police and detained on remand.

On 31 May 1991 the Katowice Regional Court (Sąd Wojewódzki) convicted the applicant of homicide and sentenced him to twelve years' imprisonment and a fine, to be paid to a charity. The court also sentenced the applicant to four years' deprivation of his civic rights.

The applicant appealed. On 17 December 1991 the Katowice Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny) dismissed his appeal.

The applicant served the twelve-year sentence during the following periods: from 2 May 1990 to 14 February 1993; from 17 February 1993 to 20 June 1993; from 18 September 1993 to 31 January 1995; from 12 April 1995 to 22 May 1999; and from 10 October 2001 to 6 March 2005.

On 22 September 1994 the applicant was convicted of burglary by the Dąbrowa Górnicza District Court (Sąd Rejonowy) and sentenced to two years and three months' imprisonment. That judgment was partly upheld on appeal by the Katowice Regional Court on 22 December 1994. The applicant served this sentence between 7 May 2005 and 7 August 2007.

B. Elections

On 25 September 2005 the applicant, who was at that time serving his sentence in the Katowice Detention Centre, unsuccessfully attempted to vote in the parliamentary elections. On the same date he wrote a “declaration” in which he complained to the Katowice Local Electoral Commission (Obwodowa Komisja Wyborcza) about not being allowed to vote. The following handwritten note, accompanied by a stamp of the Katowice Local Electoral Commission and an illegible signature, was made on the applicant's declaration: “On 25 September 2005 Mr Leszek Hinczewski came to cast his vote. He did not vote, however, because he was still deprived of his civic rights and his name had been deleted from the list of voters. The Municipal Office was consulted and confirmed that it had been notified by the Katowice Regional Court [about the applicant's conviction in] case IVK 165/90. The date of notification: 22 August 2005.”

C. Monitoring of correspondence

On 9 July 2006 the applicant sent the Court a letter from the Sosnowiec Detention Centre. The envelope in which the letter was delivered to the Registry bears the following stamp: “Będzin District Court Censored” (Sąd Rejonowy w Będzinie Cenzurowano) and an illegible signature. An identical stamp “Bedzin District Court Censored” with an illegible signature can be found on the second page of the applicant's letter addressed to the Registrar. The envelope bears signs of having been opened: its right side has been cut open and then resealed with sellotape.

The applicant submitted that his letter from the Ombudsman had been interfered with by the authorities. He provided the original envelope in which the letter was delivered to him. The envelope bears the stamp of the sender, the Office of the Ombudsman in Warsaw, and is postmarked 27 July 2005. According to other stamps, it appears that the letter arrived at the Sosnowiec Detention Centre on 1 August 2005 (Areszt Śledczy w Sosnowcu), and was then sent to the Dabrowa Gornicza District Prosecutor (Prokuratura Rejonowa... Dabrowa Gornicza), who returned it to the Detention Centre on 11 August 2005. On the stamp of the Dabrowa Gornicza District Prosecutor there is a handwritten note: “Censored” (Ocenzurowano) and an illegible signature. The envelope bears signs of having been opened: the top has been cut open and then resealed with sellotape.