PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 4661/02) 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, Ms Şükran Yıldız (“the applicant”), on 21 June 2001.

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

On 3 July 2007 the Court declared the application partly inadmissible and decided to communicate the complaints concerning the length of the applicant’s detention on remand, the right to have the lawfulness of her detention decided by a court and the right to legal assistance during her police custody to the Government. It also decided to examine the merits of the application at the same time as its admissibility (Article 29 § 3).

THE FACTS

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

The applicant was born in 1980 and lives in Diyarbakır.

On 22 September 1996 the applicant, who was sixteen years old at the time, was taken into custody by policemen from the Diyarbakır Security Directorate on suspicion of membership of an illegal armed organisation, namely the PKK (the Kurdistan Workers’ Party). In her police statements dated 6 and 8 October 1996 respectively, the applicant accepted the charges against her. During her interrogations, the applicant did not have the assistance of a lawyer.

On 22 October 1996 the applicant was brought before the Diyarbakır public prosecutor and subsequently before the investigating judge. She was interrogated in the absence of a lawyer by the public prosecutor and the investigating judge respectively and denied the allegations against her. Taking into account the seriousness of the allegations, the judge ordered that the applicant be placed in detention on remand. The applicant was then allowed to have access to a lawyer.

By an indictment dated 3 December 1996, the public prosecutor at the Diyarbakır State Security Court initiated criminal proceedings against the applicant and nine other accused. He accused the applicant of being a member of the PKK and accordingly called for her to be sentenced pursuant to Article 168 § 2 of the Criminal Code.

The trial commenced before the Diyarbakır State Security Court. In the subsequent twenty hearings, the court refused to release the applicant on account of the nature of the alleged offence and the state of evidence.

On 2 June 1999 the Diyarbakır State Security Court concluded that the applicant was a member of the PKK and accordingly sentenced her to eight years and four months’ imprisonment pursuant to Article 168 § 2 of the Criminal Code.

On 20 December 1999 the Court of Cassation quashed the judgment of the first-instance court.

On 10 August 2001 the applicant was released pending trial.

On 9 April 2002 the court rendered its judgment and sentenced the applicant to eight years and four months’ imprisonment pursuant to Article 168 § 2 of the Criminal Code. In convicting the applicant, the State Security Court had particular regard to the applicant’s police statements.

On 7 October 2002 the Court of Cassation upheld the judgment of the Diyarbakır State Security Court.