PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 40555/04) 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 Ekrem Ütebay (“the applicant”), on 1 October 2004.

By a letter of 11 March 2007, the Registry was informed of the death of the applicant. His parents, Mrs Muhteber Ütebay and Mr İyasettin Ütebay, and his brother, Mr Ercan Ütebay, declared their intention to pursue the application.

For practical reasons, Mr Ütebay will continue to be called “the applicant” in this judgment, although his family is now to be regarded as such (see Ahmet Sadık v. Greece, judgment of 15 November 1996, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1996‑V, p. 1641, § 3).

The applicant was represented by Mr F. Babaoğlu, a lawyer practising in Ankara. The Turkish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent.

On 6 November 2006 the Court decided to give notice of the application to the Government. Under the provisions of Article 29 § 3 of the Convention, it decided to examine the merits of the application at the same time as its admissibility.

THE FACTS

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

The applicant was born in 1973 and lived in İstanbul. He died on 14 June 2005.

The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows.

On 7 March 1994 the applicant was taken into police custody in Muş on suspicion of being a member of the illegal PKK (the Kurdistan Workers' Party). On 13 March 1994 he was handed over to the Istanbul Security Directorate for further investigation.

On 21 March 1994 the applicant was taken before the investigating judge at the Istanbul State Security Court, who ordered his detention pending trial.

By an indictment dated 23 June 1994, the public prosecutor initiated criminal proceedings against the applicant and forty-five other defendants before the Istanbul State Security Court, accusing them, inter alia, of membership of an illegal armed organisation and of involvement in activities that undermined the constitutional order of the State. The prosecution requested that the applicant be sentenced pursuant to Article 125 of the Criminal Code.

On 5 May 1999 the Istanbul State Security Court, composed of three judges including a military judge, decided that the applicant's case should be separated from the file as his final defence submissions had not been submitted to the court.

On 18 June 1999 the Constitution was amended and the military judge sitting on the bench of the Istanbul State Security Court was replaced by a civilian judge.

The case against the applicant continued before the Istanbul State Security Court. In the course of the proceedings the State Security Court rejected the applicant's requests for release, taking into account the nature of the alleged offence and the state of the evidence.

On 5 April 2004 the applicant was released pending trial. The case was still pending before the domestic courts when the applicant died on 14 June 2005.