PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 20578/05) 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 Dündar Hasko (“the applicant”), on 7 June 2005.

The applicant was represented by Ms H.S. Özyavuz, a lawyer practising in Istanbul. The Turkish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent.

The applicant alleged, in particular, that the length of the criminal proceedings against him had been incompatible with Article 6 § 1 of the Convention and that his right to adversarial proceedings had been breached by the non-communication of the Principal Public Prosecutor’s opinion to him.

On 10 February 2010 the President of the Second Section decided to give notice of the application to the Government. It was also decided to rule on the admissibility and merits of the application at the same time (Article 29 § 1).

THE FACTS

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

The applicant was born in 1930 and lives in Istanbul.

In 1991 the inspection board of a State-owned bank (Türkiye Vakıflar Bankası Teftiş Kurulu – “the Board”) issued a report claiming, inter alia, that the applicant, who was a lawyer, had withdrawn substantial amounts of expropriation compensation on behalf of several persons by submitting false powers of attorney. In 1993, on the basis of the Board’s report, the bank requested the institution of criminal proceedings against the applicant.

On 26 September 1993 the Beyoğlu Public Prosecutor filed an indictment against the applicant for knowingly using false powers of attorney.

On 21 March 1994 the Istanbul Assize Court acquitted the applicant, stating that the powers of attorney had been issued by a notary and conveyed to the applicant by third parties and that there was insufficient evidence to prove that the applicant knew these documents to be false. On 8 December 1994 the Court of Cassation quashed the judgment of the first-instance court, stating that the court had failed to examine certain major witnesses.

After examining these witnesses, on 20 March 1996 the Istanbul Assize Court once again acquitted the applicant. The statements of one of the civil parties, N.K., were taken in the absence of the applicant. Nevertheless, her statements were read during the hearing of 26 June 1995 and the applicant had the opportunity to submit his arguments against them.

On 13 May 1997 the Court of Cassation quashed the judgment of the first-instance court, this time stating that the court had failed to evaluate the authenticity of the signatures on the powers of attorney.

On 23 January 2001, taking into account expert reports on the authenticity of the signatures, the Istanbul Assize Court again acquitted the applicant. However, this judgment was quashed by the Court of Cassation on 8 October 2002. The higher court stated that the first-instance court had erred in its judgment and that the applicant should have been sentenced.

On 17 July 2003, following six hearings, two of which were conducted with the attendance of N.K., the Istanbul Assize Court found the applicant guilty as charged and sentenced him to four years and eight months’ imprisonment. The court mainly relied on the expert reports and indicated that the witness statements were not adequate to clarify whether the applicant had used the false powers of attorney knowingly.

During the appeal proceedings, the Principal Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation submitted his written observations to that court. However, those observations were not forwarded to either the applicant or his lawyer. On 22 December 2004 the Court of Cassation upheld the judgment of the Istanbul Assize Court.

Subsequently, the applicant requested the suspension of the execution of his sentence on account of his age and poor state of health, submitting several doctors’ reports which stated that he was suffering from cerebrovascular and vertebral insufficiency as well as hypertension. On 16 February 2005 the Istanbul Assize Court refused his request.

Following the entry into force of the new Criminal Code (Law no. 5237) in 2005, the Istanbul Assize Court re-examined the applicant’s sentence on 13 February 2006 and reduced it to three years and nine months’ imprisonment. The applicant did not appeal against that decision.

In July 2010, an additional arrest warrant was issued against the applicant.