PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 38007/02) 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 Artur Warsiński (“the applicant”), on 3 October 2002.

The Polish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr J. Wołąsiewicz of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On 29 November 2006 the President of the Fourth Section of the Court decided to communicate to the Government the complaint concerning the issue of the possible monitoring of the applicant's correspondence. Under the provisions of Article 29 § 3 of the Convention, it was decided to examine the merits of the application at the same time as its admissibility.

THE FACTS

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

A. The criminal proceedings against the applicant

The applicant, Mr Artur Warsiński, is a Polish national who was born in 1976 and lives in Bytów.

The applicant was charged with drug trafficking and detained on remand from 6 April 2002 to 21 May 2004. He was detained in the Słupsk Detention Centre.

On 28 May 2003 the Słupsk Regional Court found the applicant guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced him to three years' imprisonment. The applicant appealed.

On 30 December 2003 the Gdańsk Court of Appeal amended the judgment and sentenced the applicant to two years and four months' imprisonment. The judgment is final.

B. The monitoring of the applicant's correspondence

On 3 October 2002 the applicant sent a letter to the European Court of Human Rights. It was received by the Court on 21 October 2002. It bears a stamp “censored on” (cenzurowano dnia ...), a handwritten date “2 October” and an illegible signature. The envelope also bears a stamp of the Słupsk Regional Court.

On 4 December 2002 the applicant sent another letter to the European Court of Human Rights. It was received by the Court on 17 December 2002. It bears a stamp “censored on”, a handwritten date “4 December” and an illegible signature. The envelope also bears a stamp of the Słupsk Regional Court.

It also appears that both envelopes had been cut open and resealed with adhesive tape.

The applicant submitted a photocopy of an envelope sent to him on 24 October 2002 by the Court. It bears a stamp “censored on”, a handwritten date “31 October 2002” and an illegible signature. The envelope also bears a stamp of the Słupsk Regional Court. The applicant claimed that he had received the letter in an opened envelope.

The applicant also produced a photocopy of an envelope sent to him on 22 November 2002 by “Amnesty International”. It bears a stamp “censored”, a handwritten date “28 November 2002” and an illegible signature. The envelope also bears a stamp of the Słupsk Detention Centre, with a date of receipt (25 November 2002) and a stamp of the Słupsk Regional Court.

Lastly, the applicant submitted a photocopy of an envelope sent to him on 28 November 2002 by “Transparency International - Polska”. It bears a stamp “censored”, a handwritten date “3 December” and an illegible signature. The envelope also bears a stamp of the Słupsk Detention Centre, with a date of receipt (2 December 2002) and a stamp of the Słupsk Regional Court.

On 12 June 2003 the applicant sent a letter to the Słupsk Regional Court in which he complained about censorship of his correspondence.

On 30 June 2003 he received a letter from the President of the Słupsk Regional Court informing him that, according to the information obtained from the Criminal Department of the Słupsk Regional Court, the applicant's correspondence had not been censored. He further stated that the applicant's correspondence had been stamped “censored” by mistake.