PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 22088/03) 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 Mehmet Gürova (“the applicant”), on 6 May 2003.

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

On 16 February 2008 the President of the Second Section decided to give notice of the application to the Government. It was also decided to examine the merits of the application at the same time as its admissibility (Article 29 § 3).

THE FACTS

The applicant was born in 1960 and lives in Ankara.

On 17 May 2000 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of membership of an illegal organisation. The same day, the applicant was examined by a doctor, who reported that there was no sign of ill-treatment on his body. On 18 May 2000 he was questioned in police custody in the absence of a lawyer. In his police statement, the applicant admitted that he had had military training in Iran but rejected the allegation that he was a member of an illegal organisation.

On 21 May 2000 the applicant was again medically examined by a doctor, who stated that there were no traces of ill-treatment on his body. Subsequently, on the same day, the applicant was brought before the prosecutor and the investigating judge at the Ankara State Security Court, still in the absence of a lawyer. Before the public prosecutor, the applicant declared that he had been subjected to “psychological torture” in police custody and refuted his police statement. He acknowledged that he had been to Iran but denied having had military training there. The applicant also gave a statement to the investigating judge. He retracted his police statement but did not mention any allegations of ill-treatment or duress. After the questioning was over, the investigating judge remanded the applicant in custody.

On 11 July 2000 the prosecutor at the Ankara State Security Court filed an indictment with that court, charging the applicant with the offence of membership of an illegal organisation, namely the Tevhid-Selam and its sub-group the Kudüs Savaşçıları. A number of other persons were also included in the same indictment and accused of various offences, such as the assassination of a number of prominent journalists and academics in Turkey. According to the prosecutor, the organisation's aim was to establish a religious regime in Turkey similar to that in Iran.

On 7 January 2002 the Ankara State Security Court rendered its 152 page-long judgment. The trial court found it established, on the basis of the applicant's police custody statement of 18 May 2000, that he was a member of the illegal organisation. It sentenced him to twelve years and six months' imprisonment under Article 168 of the Criminal Code. In its decision the trial court also examined the applicant's allegation of psychological pressure in police custody. Having regard to the two medical reports drawn up at the time of the applicant's arrest and his release from police custody, which stated that there were no marks of injury on the applicant's body, the court concluded that the applicant had retracted his police custody statement in order to avoid conviction.

On 12 November 2002 the Court of Cassation upheld the applicant's conviction. The applicant was released from prison on 10 June 2006.