Turkey Found Guilty Over Bodyguard Case

This morning, ECHR has reached a verdict in the case of Necati Yılmaz (50), a disabled man who alleged he was beaten by bodyguards after his detantion for insulting Turkey’s Prime Minister in 2007.

The court found found PM Erdogan's bodyguards guilty for violating Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The court verdict also underlined the lack of investigation concerning the incident.

The Court held that Turkey was to pay the applicant 12,000 euros in respect of non- pecuniary damage.

Bodyguards' identities still unknown

The applicant was identified as Necati Yilmaz, a Turkish national from Araklı, Trabzon with an 80% eyesight impairment.

On 7 April 2007, Yilmaz attended a ceremony where the Prime Minister of Turkey was inaugurating a new road. He was arrested for having publicly insulted the Prime Minister when he raised concerns over the rise of hazelnut prices.

Yilmaz was reportedly seized by PM Erdogan's bodyguards and escorted to police headquarters. He complained that the bodyguards, whose identities are still unknown, punched him in the face. Medical examination confirmed that the applicant’s right ear had been injured, a report that ECHR verdict cited.

"On 11 April 2007 Mr Yilmaz lodged a complaint for ill-treatment, alleging that he had been punched by the prime Minister’s bodyguards in the car on the way to the police station. Considering that there was insufficient evidence or eyewitness testimony, the prosecutor found that there was no case to answer. The applicant appealed and the Rize Assize Court set aside the prosecutor’s decision, finding that the prosecutor had failed to take into account the medical reports adduced by the applicant, and that there was sufficient evidence in the criminal investigation file that the Prime Minister’s bodyguards had acted illegally," ECHR said, summarizing Yilmaz's complaint history.

The court also cited that Yılmaz is still being prosecuted for defamation charges.

ECHR underscored prevention of impunity

On February 24, 2009, Yılmaz filed a lawsuit to ECHR.

"The Court considered that the way the Prime Minister’s bodyguards had treated Mr Yilmaz at the time of his arrest went well beyond the requirements of a normal arrest. There had therefore been a violation of Article 3 on grounds of ill- treatment," the verdict said.

The court also underscored the importance of "a prompt response by the authorities in investigating allegations of ill-treatment" for "maintaining public confidence" and prevention of impunity.

The Court, however, rejected the applicant’s complaint about the unlawfulness of his arrest. (AS/BM)