Police Torture Convicted After 15 Years

The European Court of Human Rights found Turkey guilty of violating torture and inhuman or degrading treatment ban in the case where police officers were acquitted for torturing Şükrü Yıldız on the grounds of “self-defense”.

Ayça Söylemez

The European Court of Human Rights issued a verdict in the case of Şükrü Yıldız (33), a case that concerns the applicant’s alleged ill-treatment by the police during his arrest in 2000 and his complaint that the investigation into his allegations was not effective.

ECHR found Turkey guilty of violating Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment).

Türkiye will pay Yıldız 19,500 euros as non-pecuniary damages and 1,550 euros as court expenses.

Police fired at slogan writers

On 10 December 2000 at 3 a.m. police officers patrolling an area of Istanbul noticed Yıldız, accompanied by three other people, writing illegal slogans on walls. After shots were fired, one of the other men sustained an injury to the ear and another suffered head wounds, from which he later died. Yıldız, who sustained minor head injuries, alleges that during his arrest, police officers kicked him in the head while forcing him to get inside their car. Yıldız remained in hospital until 18 December 2000 and underwent an operation for a skull fracture with depression in the right parietal region.

In January 2001 the prosecuting authorities instituted criminal proceedings against Yıldız for membership of an "illegal" organization (the MLKP). In April 2004 he was found guilty of undermining the integrity of the State in a judgment upheld by the Court of Cassation in April 2005.

In November 2001 the public prosecutor instituted criminal proceedings against the police officers involved in the events. In a judgment of 24 May 2012, finding that the police officers had acted in self-defense, the Assize Court discharged them of any criminal liability. Mr Yıldız appealed to the Court of Cassation, which ordered the acquittal of the accused on 24 May 2014 on the grounds that the suspected policemen made a “self-defense”.

ECHR found Turkey guilty of violating the torture ban as well as failing to investigate efficiently in the case where policemen’s actions went unpunished. (AS/BM)

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Ayça Söylemez

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Boğaziçi Üniversitesi Felsefe Bölümü mezunu. Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar Üniversitesi Sosyoloji bölümünde yüksek lisans yaptı. Marmara Üniversitesi İletişim Bilimleri’nde doktora yapıyor. Vatan, Akşam, HaberTürk ve Hürriyet gazetelerinin yazıişleri ve dış haberler bölümünde çalıştı. Güncel Hukuk dergisinde yazıları yayınlandı. BirGün’de Anonim adlı köşeyi yazıyor. 2011’den bu yana bianet’te İnsan Hakları Editörü.