PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 69124/01) against the Republic of Turkey lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a Turkish national, Mr Hikmedin Yıldız (“the applicant”), on 23 October 2000.

The applicant was represented by Mr E. Talay and Mr S. Akbaş, lawyers practising in Diyarbakır. The Turkish Government (“the Government”) did not designate an Agent for the purpose of the proceedings before the Court.

On 1 September 2005 the Court declared the application partly inadmissible and decided to communicate the complaint concerning the length of the criminal proceedings to the Government. Under Article 29 § 3 of the Convention, it decided to examine the merits of the application at the same time as its admissibility.

THE FACTS

The applicant was born in 1957 and lives in Diyarbakır.

On 12 January 1993 the applicant was arrested and taken into custody on suspicion of his membership in an illegal organisation, namely the PKK. On 29 January 1993 he was brought before a judge at the Diyarbakır State Security Court who ordered his remand in custody.

The public prosecutor at the Diyarbakır State Security Court, in his indictment dated 3 March 1993, accused the applicant and fifty other co‑accused of membership and/or aiding and abetting the PKK. The charges against the applicant were brought under Article 168 § 2 of the Criminal Code and Article 5 of Law no. 3713.

On 11 March 1993 the criminal proceedings against the applicant and fifty other co-accuseds commenced before the Diyarbakır State Security Court. The first hearing was scheduled for 14 April 1993.

On 14 April 1993 the court heard some of the accused including the applicant, who denied the accusations against him. The court decided to request documents from various authorities with a view to completing the case-file and ordered the co-accused to be ready to submit their defence submissions at the next hearing.

Between 14 April 1993 and 25 April 2000 the court held hearings at regular intervals. During this time at each hearing the court heard some of the accused and requested documents from various authorities with a view to completing the case-file. In the course of the proceedings, the public prosecutor filed additional indictments against some of the accused and therefore the court sought to obtain additional defence submissions from these persons. In the hearing held on 2 April 1996 the public prosecutor submitted his observations on the merits of the case. The court decided to release the applicant pending trial. Following this date, the court adjourned the hearings partly on account of the failure of some of the co-accused, who were remanded in custody, to appear before the court. On 21 January 1997 and 26 February 1998 the court considered the possibility of disjoining the criminal proceedings if the case‑file could not be completed as regards some of the accused. At its hearing held on 28 April 1998 the court warned that it would decide in the absence of the accused if they were not present at the next hearing. However, no such decisions were taken by the court.

On 25 April 2000 the Diyarbakır State Security Court ordered that the criminal proceedings against the applicant be terminated on the ground that the statutory time-limit under Articles 102 and 104 of the Criminal Code had expired.