PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 74318/01) 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 twelve Turkish nationals, Mr Resul Sadak, Mr Nihat Osal, Mr Mehmet Çakar, Mr Rustem Bayar, Mr Tahir Kutlu, Mr Cengiz Balık, Mr İzzet Belge, Mr Abdurrazak İnan, Mr Mehmet Temelkuran, Mr Mehmet Nezir Ayan, Mr Yakup Uyar and Mr Erdal Güler (“the applicants”), on 1 April 2001.

The applicants were represented by Mr T. Elçi, a lawyer practising in Diyarbakır. The Turkish Government (“the Government”) did not designate an Agent for the purposes of the proceedings before the Court.

On 3 November 2005 the Court declared the application partly inadmissible and decided to communicate to the Government the complaint concerning the applicants’ right to be brought promptly before a judge. 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

At the time of the events giving rise to the application, Mr Resul Sadak was the provincial leader and the other applicants were members of the Peoples’ Democracy Party (Halkın Demokrasi Partisi, hereinafter “HADEP”) in Şırnak, which was a province in the State of Emergency region.

On 23 September 2000 Resul Sadak, Nihat Osal, Mehmet Çakar, Rustem Bayar, Tahir Kutlu, Cengiz Balık, İzzet Belge, Abdurrazak İnan, Mehmet Temelkuran, Mehmet Nezir Ayan and Yakup Uyar went to Batman in order to participate in the Batman Provincial Congress of HADEP in two cars belonging to Yakup Uyar and Erdal Güler. On their way back to Şırnak from Batman, they were stopped in Düzova village, in Cizre, and arrested by gendarmerie officers. The applicants were then taken to the Şırnak provincial gendarmerie command.

On 27 September 2000 at 2 p.m. Erdal Güler was taken into custody. He was kept in custody until 11 a.m. on 1 October 2000.

On 1 October 2000 the applicants were brought before the Şırnak public prosecutor and the Şırnak Magistrates’ Court (sulh ceza mahkemesi). On the same day, the Şırnak Magistrates’ Court ordered that Resul Sadak, Nihat Osal, Mehmet Çakar, Rustem Bayar, Tahir Kutlu, Cengiz Balık, İzzet Belge, Abdurrazak İnan, Mehmet Temelkuran, Mehmet Nezir Ayan and Erdal Güler be detained on remand and that Yakup Uyar be released.

Subsequently, criminal proceedings were brought against the applicants on charges of aiding and abetting the PKK contrary to Article 169 of the Criminal Code and Article 5 of Law no. 3713, and illegal possession of firearms and explosives contrary to Article 264 § 5 of the Criminal Code and Article 13 § 2 of Law no. 6136.

On 12 December 2000 the Diyarbakır State Security Court ordered the applicants’ release pending trial.

In 2002 and 2003 the applicants were acquitted of the charges against them.