Ünel v. Turkey (35686/02)
| Date | 20080527 |
|---|---|
| Article | 6 |
| Decision | violation |
Violation of Article 6 §§ 1 and 3(d)
Ünel v. Turkey (no. 35686/02)
The applicant, Sermet Mustafa Ünel, is a Turkish national who was born in 1959 and lives in Ankara (Turkey).
The applicant, who was Director General of Civil Aviation at the Ministry of Transport between 1997 and 2000, was arrested while committing an act of corruption in a police operation following a criminal complaint in February 2000. The Assize Court found him guilty of corruption and in October 2001 sentenced him to a term of imprisonment of six years, 15 months and 15 days, together with a fine. In June 2006 the sentence was reduced to four years and two months’ imprisonment and the amount of the fine was reduced. The applicant complained of a lack of fairness in the proceedings before the trial court and claimed that he was the victim of a police conspiracy. He relied on Article 6 §§ 1 (right to a fair trial) and 3 (d) (right to examine witnesses).
The Court found that the applicant had been arrested in the course of what could be described as a “sting” operation. However, it considered that the police and prosecution service had had good reason to suspect the applicant of corruption, and that the activity of the police could not be said to have provoked the commission of the offence. Accordingly, it found unanimously that there had no been no violation of Article 6 § 1 in respect of the allegation of unlawful entrapment.
As regards the fairness of the proceedings, in view of the fact that certain material evidence relevant to the establishment of the applicant’s guilt had not been produced or discussed adequately at the hearing in the defendant’s presence, in spite of requests that he had reiterated to such effect, the Court found that the proceedings had not met the requirements of a fair trial. It accordingly held, unanimously, that there had been a violation of Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (d). The Court awarded Mr Ünel EUR 5,000 for non-pecuniary damage and EUR 1,500 for costs and expenses. (The judgment is available only in French.)