The District Court in Łódź has awarded a former vice-dean of a legal advisor chamber over 3 million PLN in compensation following nine months of wrongful detention in brutal conditions.
Hell in the Cell: Rats, Smoke, and “Special Treatment”
A legal advisor is set to receive over 3 million PLN in total after spending nine months in pretrial detention and eventually being acquitted of the most serious charges. The District Court in Łódź issued a non-final ruling, granting the former vice-dean of one of the regional chambers of legal advisors record compensation and damages.
The case gained significant media attention several years ago when the legal advisor was detained at his workplace and led away in handcuffs. Investigators filed serious charges, and the court ordered temporary detention.
Rats, Hunger, and Humiliation
According to the court’s justification, the imprisonment had negative psychological and professional consequences. The court noted that the detainee lived in constant fear for his safety, fearing the reactions of fellow prisoners after the nature of the charges was revealed. He underwent frequent personal searches during which he was forced to strip naked.
The justification also described the conditions of his stay. Rats appeared in the cell, and despite being held in a non-smoking section, one of the cellmates smoked cigarettes. According to testimony, officers openly told other inmates why he had been detained, and there were instances where he received limited food portions specifically because of the charges against him.
A Destroyed Career and Professional Stigma
During the first few months, the legal advisor had contact only with his defense counsel. During this time, he was suspended from practicing his profession, losing both his job and his firm’s clients. The court argued that even after leaving detention, he struggled to rebuild his reputation.
Suspicion lingered within the legal community for a long time, despite the court’s final acquittal on the charge of exploiting a minor. Meanwhile, proceedings regarding another act—inflicting bodily harm on his son—were conditionally dismissed for a probationary period.
Calculating the Loss: Why 3 Million PLN?
The District Court in Łódź ruled that the temporary arrest applied to the man was “obviously unjust,” stating that the hardships he suffered should not have occurred in light of the final resolution of the case.
In calculating the compensation, the court considered lost income from the period before the arrest and the time during which the lawyer could not practice his profession, awarding 1.369 million PLN. Additionally, 1.8 million PLN was awarded as compensation for psychological harm and the social consequences of the case. The ruling is not final.