6.  The applicant was born in 1979 and lives in Adana. 7.  On 11 July 2000 the Adana Magistrate’s Court ordered the detention of the applicant in absentia. 8.  On 20 July 2000 the applicant was questioned by the gendarmerie in the absence of his lawyer. In his statement, the applicant gave a detailed description about his involvement in an illegal organisation and the activities in which he had taken part. Subsequently, he was brought before the public prosecutor at the Adana State Security Court. During the interview, the applicant stated, again in the absence of a lawyer, that his statements made to the gendarmerie had been correct. 9.  On 15 September 2000 the investigating judge at the Mardin Magistrate’s Court ordered the applicant’s pre-trial detention, again in the absence of a lawyer. 10.  On 24 October 2000 the public prosecutor lodged an indictment before the Adana State Security Court, charging the applicant under Section 125 of the former Criminal Code with carrying out activities with the aim of bringing about the secession of part of the national territory. 11.  On 25 October 2005 the Adana Assize Court convicted the applicant as charged. 12.  On 26 April 2006 the Court of Cassation quashed the conviction. 13.  On 6 November 2007 the Adana Assize Court found that, inter alia, on the basis of the applicant’s statements to the gendarmerie and the public prosecutor, the applicant had committed the offence under Section 125 of the former Criminal Code and sentenced him to life imprisonment. 14.  On 12 November 2008 the Court of Cassation upheld the conviction.