PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 32981/96) against the Republic of Turkey lodged with the European Commission of Human Rights (“the Commission”) under former Article 25 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by four Turkish nationals, Mr Atalay Dede, Mr Mehmet Kumral, Mr Hüseyin Hakkı Zabcı and Mehmet Akın Dirik (“the applicants”), on 30 May, 14 and 18 June 1996 respectively.

Mr Dede and Mr Dirik were represented before the Court by Mrs Nurten Çaglar and Mr Mehdi Bektaş respectively, lawyers practising in Ankara. Mr Kumral and Mr Zabcı did not designate a lawyer for the purposes of the proceedings before the Court. The Turkish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Ambassador Tugay Uluçevik.

The applicants complained under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention about the length of the proceedings against them.

The application was transmitted to the Court on 1 November 1998, when Protocol No. 11 to the Convention came into force (Article 5 § 2 of Protocol No. 11).

The application was allocated to the First Section of the Court (Rule 52 § 1 of the Rules of Court). Within that Section, the Chamber that would consider the case (Article 27 § 1 of the Convention) was constituted as provided in Rule 26 § 1 of the Rules of Court. Mr Rıza Türmen, the judge elected in respect of Turkey, withdrew from sitting in the case (Rule 28). The Government accordingly appointed Mr Feyyaz Gölcüklü to sit as an ad hoc judge, in his place (Artice 27 § of the Convention and Rule 29 § 1).

By a decision of 17 October 2000 the Court declared the application admissible.

On 1 November 2001 the Court changed the composition of its Sections (Rule 25 § 1) . This case was assigned to the newly composed Third Section.

The applicants and the Government each filed observations on the merits (Rule 59 § 1).

THE FACTS

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

A. Arrest and detention of the applicants

In January and February 1981 the applicants were arrested by policemen and placed in police custody. They were accused of membership of an illegal organisation, the Dev-Yol (Revolutionary Way).

On 15 April, 11 May and 9 July 1981 the Ankara Martial Law Court (sıkıyönetim mahkemesi) ordered the applicants’ detention on remand.

B. Trial in the Ankara Martial Law Court

On 26 February 1982 the Military Public Prosecutor filed a bill of indictment with the Ankara Martial Law Court setting out charges against 723 defendants, including the applicants. He accused the applicants of membership of an organisation whose aim was to undermine the constitutional order and replace it with a Marxist-Leninist regime, contrary to Article 146 § 1 of the Turkish Criminal Code

On different dates the applicants were all released pending trial by the Ankara Martial Law Court.

After martial Law was lifted, the Ankara Martial Law Court took the name of Martial Law Court attached to the 4th Army Corps.

On 19 July 1989 the Martial Law Court convicted the applicants and sentenced them to terms of imprisonment. The applicants appealed to the Military Court of Cassation (Askeri Yargıtay).

C. Proceedings on appeal

Following promulgation of the Law of 26 December 1994, which abolished the jurisdiction of the martial law courts, the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) acquired jurisdiction over the cases and the files were sent to it.

On 28 December 1995 the Court of Cassation upheld Mr Mehmet Kumral’s and Mr Hüseyin Hakkı Zabcı’s conviction. It quashed the convictions of Mr Dede and Mr Dirik and referred the cases to the Ankara Assize Court (ağır ceza mahkemesi). The criminal proceedings are still pending before the latter court.