6.  The applicant was born in 1977 and lives in Istanbul. 7.  On 16 June 1999 the applicant was arrested and taken into custody on suspicion of belonging to an illegal organisation, namely Hizbullah. 8.  On 21 June 1999 the applicant’s statements were taken by the police in the absence of a lawyer. During his interrogation, he confessed being a member of the Hizbullah and gave a detailed account of his acts within the illegal organisation. 9.  On 22 June 1999 the applicant was heard by the Diyarbakır public prosecutor and the investigating judge at the Diyarbakır State Security Court, again in the absence of a lawyer. In his statements before both the public prosecutor and the investigating judge, the applicant denied the accusations and maintained that his statements to the police had been given under duress. On the same date, upon the order of the investigating judge, the applicant was placed in pre-trial detention. 10.  On 30 June 1999 the public prosecutor at the Diyarbakır State Security Court filed an indictment with that court, charging the applicant under Article 168 § 2 of the former Turkish Criminal Code, namely for membership of an illegal armed organisation. 11.  On 9 November 1999 the applicant was released pending trial. 12.  The State Security Courts were later abolished by Law no. 5190 of 16 June 2004, and the case was transferred to the Diyarbakır Assize Court. 13.  On 12 June 2008, relying on, inter alia, the applicant’s statements to the police, the Diyarbakır Assize Court convicted the applicant under Article 314 § 2 of the new Turkish Criminal Code and sentenced him to six years and three months’ imprisonment. In convicting the applicant, the Assize Court further took into consideration information on computer hard disks and print-outs, which had been seized in a house belonging to the illegal organisation, as well as the statements of several witnesses who had testified against the applicant. 14.  On 4 June 2009 the Court of Cassation upheld the judgment of the first-instance court.