Amer v. Turkey (25720/02)

Date	20090113
Article	6(1)
Decision	violation

The applicant, Yassir Faathelrahman Amer, is a Sudanese-Bulgarian national who was born in 1969 and is currently serving a life sentence in a prison in the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" for having killed a businessman by slitting his throat in 2001. Relying on Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment), he complained about the conditions of his detention in prison. He also alleged that he was not informed promptly, in a language which he understood, of the reasons for his arrest, in breach of Article 5 § 2 (right to liberty and security). Lastly, he complained in particular about the excessive length of the appeal proceedings in his case and that he was not provided with an interpreter to enable him to understand the accusations against him, in breach of Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial within a reasonable time) and § 3 (e) (right to have the assistance of an interpreter). The Court held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 6 § 1 on account of the excessive length, just over four years and nine months, of the criminal proceedings and a further violation of Article 6 § 1 in conjunction with Article 6 § 3 (e). Mr Amer was awarded EUR 5,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage and EUR 2,000 for costs and expenses. (The judgment is available only in English.)