PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 77092/01) 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 a Turkish national, Mr Necdet Bulut (“the applicant”), on 9 August 2001.

The applicant, who had been granted legal aid, was represented by Ms G. Altay, Mr Ü. Kuş and Mr H. Karakuş, lawyers practising in Istanbul. The Turkish Government (“the Government”) did not designate an Agent for the purposes of the proceedings before the Court.

On 3 July 2003 the Court decided to give notice of the application to the Government.

In a letter of 24 June 2005, the Court informed the parties that in accordance with Article 29 §§ 1 and 3 of the Convention it would decide on both the admissibility and merits of the application.

THE FACTS

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

The applicant was born in 1984 and lives in Freiburg, Switzerland.

On 15 July 2000, in the early hours of the morning, the applicant was injured by gunfire during arrest. He received a single bullet to his lower left leg. He was sixteen years old.

A report of the incident was drafted on the same day at 4.30 a.m. by the police officers involved in the incident and signed by all the suspects, with the exception of the applicant who had been taken to hospital. According to this report, at around 2.30 a.m. the police officers had received information from police headquarters that a group of masked persons had been seen writing on walls and tampering with cars on Tufan Street in the district of Kartal. On arrival at the scene, the police officers had seen graffiti on the walls and, at that moment, someone had started to shoot at them from a dark alley on the opposite side of the street. The police officers and reinforcement police teams which had arrived in the meantime had chased the suspects for about one hour. The suspects had eventually been cornered on an empty plot of land at number 6 Spor Street. Despite being ordered to surrender, the suspects had continued to shoot before entering a tent. Following a clash, the applicant had been injured and immediately taken to Kartal Hospital for treatment. The other suspects had resisted arrest. The incident report stated that the police officers had found masks, illegal documents, knives and spray paint in the tent. It also mentions that a cap gun (a toy gun that creates a loud sound akin to a gunshot and a puff of smoke when the trigger is pulled) had been found in the applicant's possession.

Between 15 and 17 July 2000 the applicant received medical treatment at Kartal State Hospital. According to the medical report of 17 July 2000 the applicant had suffered a fracture of the fibula (small bone located on the outside of the lower leg). The bullet trajectory was established as having entered from the back of the leg and exited from the front.

On 17 July 2000 the applicant was examined by a doctor who noted no physical signs of ill-treatment on his person apart from the gunshot wound.

In the meantime, on 16 July 2000, the Istanbul Criminal Police Laboratory conducted a ballistics examination of the cap gun and eight cartridges. The experts found, inter alia, that the 99 mm. semi automatic cap gun fired noise and gas caps and that the cartridges submitted corresponded to the gun. However, they asserted that with some modifications, the gun could shoot real cartridges. They submitted that the cap gun in question was no different from a real gun in terms of both its size and mechanical structure and that it was impossible to distinguish it, at first glance, from a real gun, even for those who were familiar with guns.

On 17 July 2000 forensic experts at the Istanbul Criminal Police Laboratory examined samples taken from the hands and palms of the applicant and the other suspects. They found no traces of gunpowder. However, they noted that in certain cases it was possible for traces of gunpowder on hand and palm extracts to go undetected depending on the type of gun and powder used, the way a gun was handled and whether the suspects' hands had been previously washed.

On the same day, the public prosecutor at the Istanbul State Security Court heard evidence from the applicant, who denied knowing the other suspects and writing graffiti. He claimed, inter alia, that he had started to run out of fear after he had heard gunshots nearby and that the police officers had beaten him when they caught him. The applicant stated that he did not know whether the police were shooting into the air or at the ground when he was shot.

In the meantime, the Istanbul State Security Court also heard evidence from the suspects arrested at the same time as the applicant. The co-accused Mr A.U, Mr M.B, heard on 15 July 2000, and Mr D.Ş.A., heard on 18 July 2000, all admitted that they had written slogans on the walls. However, they affirmed that none of them had fired at the police officers, including the applicant. Moreover, they suggested that the applicant had been injured after they had been taken out of the tent and made to lie down on the ground. Some of the accused referred to hearing gunshots from a wedding nearby.

On an unspecified date, the Kartal public prosecutor instigated an investigation into the incident. On 23 March 2001 he decided not to prosecute the eight police officers who took part in the incident on the ground that there was no evidence supporting the suspects' allegations that they had been ill-treated during arrest. The prosecutor further considered that the applicant had been injured as a result of the clash between the police officers and the suspects after the latter had responded to the police officers' order to surrender by opening fire from the tent. The applicant's objection to this decision was dismissed by the Kadıköy Assize Court on 17 May 2001.