Değerli and Others v. Turkey (18242/02)

Date	20080205
Article	5
Decision	violation

Violation of Article 5 § 1

Değerli and Others v. Turkey (application no. 18242/02)

The four applicants, Ali Değerli, Erdal Yıldız, Yaşar Yağan and Nurettin Işık, are Turkish nationals. They were placed in pre-trial detention in December 2000 on suspicion of having taken part in riots inside Ümraniye prison, where they were being held. Their release was ordered on 3 July 2001. However, they were not released until 4 July 2001.

Relying on Article 5 § 1 (right to liberty and security) of the European Convention on Human Rights, they complained, among other things, that they had been kept in detention arbitrarily and unlawfully.

The European Court of Human Rights found that the applicants’ continued pre-trial detention during the hours after their release had been ordered breached the requirements of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention and that the delays observed could not be justified by the large number of detainees being released. It held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 5 § 1 and awarded the applicants 1,000 euros (EUR) each for non-pecuniary damage and EUR 1,500 jointly for costs and expenses. (The judgment is available only in French.)