EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS JUDGMENT IN THE CASE OF SALIH TEKIN v. TURKEY
Press Release: 25 April 1998
This case originates in a complaint by Salih Tekin - a Turkish citizen of Kurdish origin - that he was tortured by Turkish gendarme officers while being kept in detention at Derik and Derinsu Gendarme stations in southeast Turkey. Mr Tekin is a journalist by profession.
Principal facts of the case:
Mr. Tekin was arrested in mid-February 1993 on suspicion of having threatened a number of village guards. He alleged he was taken to the Derinsu Gendarme station where he was blindfolded, threatened with death and beaten by police officers. When brought before the Derik Public Prosecutor, Mr Tekin complained that he had been subjected to torture, however, not until Mr Tekin had brought his application to the European Commission of Human Rights did the Turkish authorities initiate an inquiry into Mr Tekin’s allegations. In any case, the inquiry found that the police officers in question should not be prosecuted for the acts complained of.
The exact nature of the complaint:
Mr Tekin complained to the European Commission of Human Rights of violations of his human rights under the European Convention of Human Rights. His application was declared admissible by the European Commission of Human Rights on 20 February 1995. The case was referred to the European Court of Human Rights by the European Commission of Human Rights on 27 May 1997. In particular, he complained of violations of his rights under the following articles:
Article 2 on account of the fact that he had been
threatened with death.
Article 3 on account of the fact that he had been subjected
to torture.
Article 5 on account of the fact that he had not been
informed of the reasons for his arrest.
Article 6 on account of the fact that his complaints
of ill-treatment had not been investigated.
Article 10 on account of the fact that his rights as
a journalist to receive and impart information had been breached.
Article 13 on account of the fact that he was unable
to seek redress for his complaint of ill-treatment before a national court.
Article 14 on account of the fact that he had been
discriminated against because of his ethnic background and because he is a
journalist.
Article 18 on account of the fact that the Turkish
government had restricted his human rights in breach of the European Convention
of Human Rights.
On 17th April 1997 the European Commission of Human Rights expressed the opinion that Salih Tekin’s rights under Articles 3 and 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights had been violated.
In its judgment, delivered on 9 June 1998, the European Court of Human Rights concurred with the Commission and held that Mr Tekin’s rights under Article 3 and 13 of the European Convention of Human Rights had been violated. The Court however held that articles 2, 10, 14 and 18 had not been violated. The applicant had chosen not to pursue his complaints under articles 5 and 6 before the Court so that the Court did not consider it necessary to examine them.
Concerning Article 3, the Court held that ‘the conditions in which Mr Tekin had been held and the manner in which he must have been treated to leave wounds and bruises on his body amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment’.
In regard to Article 13, the Court found it established that the Turkish authorities had failed to carry out an investigation into Mr Tekin’s allegations of ill-treatment which was ‘sufficiently thorough and effective to meet the requirements of Article 13’.
The Court awarded Mr Tekin non-pecuniary damages of
£10,000 and costs and expenses amounting to £15,000.
For further information please contact: Kerim Yildiz,
Executive Director / Fiona McKay, Deputy Director / Sally Eberhardt, Public
Relations Officer Kurdish Human Rights Project on the address below.
Please e-mail KHRP at khrp@khrp.org, to be placed on our Press Release mailing list.
