ABSTRACT
The applicant, who was born in Beirut, married a young Lebanese woman, who became his second wife. On 21 June 1991, the body of his wife was found at the harbour mouth. The applicant had reported her disappearance in August 1991. When he was interviewed in September, he had stated that his wife had left him in June. He then claimed that she had killed herself, and that fearing the reactions of his wife’s family, he had disposed of the body. In December 1991, the investigating judge charged the applicant with murder and made a provisional order for his imprisonment. The judge made an order for his detention on remand a few days later. Over the course of the investigation, various experts were consulted and detailed inquiries were made. The applicant made numerous applications for release, all of which were rejected. In January 1996, the applicant was committed for trial for murder. An appeal against this decision was rejected in June. At the hearing in December 1996, the court adjourned the case, in response to an application from the applicant, who objected to being tried in the absence of two witnesses and an expert who had all been summonsed. In March 1997, the court sentenced the applicant to life imprisonment, with ineligibility for parole during the first 18 years. The applicant appealed, and in April 1998, the judgment was quashed and declared null and void, on the ground that the court had misapplied a relevant provision, and the case was remitted to another Assize Court. In April and May 1998, the applicant lodged applications for release, which respectively were withdrawn and dismissed. The applicant complained, under A 6(1), of the excessive length of the criminal proceedings against him and, under A 5(3), of his detention on remand. Comm found unanimously V 5(3) and NV 6(1).
