Provisional Release Without Bail for Theft and Unauthorised Use of Vehicles

Our client was arrested as a person under investigation for an alleged offence of theft and unauthorised use of vehicles, and gave a statement before the Court following his arrest. In this type of proceedings, the first appearance after arrest is decisive: it determines whether the person under investigation will face the rest of the proceedings at liberty or be remanded in pre-trial custody while the case is heard.

Our defence argued that, although there were grounds to consider our client's possible criminal liability for the facts under investigation, the circumstances legally required to justify a precautionary measure as severe as pre-trial custody were not present, and that imposing less restrictive precautionary measures was sufficient and proportionate to guarantee his availability to the Court.

The Court granted our request and issued an order for our client's provisional release without bail, subject to the obligation to appear before the judicial body as often as required and to report any change of address during the proceedings. Our client was thus able to continue his personal and professional life at liberty while the proceedings unfolded.