Cengiz Sarıkaya v. Turkey (38870/02)

Date	20080520
Article	6(1)
Decision	violation

Violation of Article 6 § 1 (length and fairness)

Cengiz Sarıkaya v. Turkey (no. 38870/02)

The applicant, Cengiz Sarıkaya, is a Turkish national who was born in 1970. He died in August 2006.

Suspected of belonging to the Islamic Movement (İslami Hareket), an illegal organisation, the applicant was arrested and taken into custody in July 1993. In February 2002 he was convicted by Istanbul State Security Court and sentenced to life imprisonment. Relying on Articles 3 (prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment), 5 (right to liberty and security) and 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial within a reasonable time), the applicant complained of ill-treatment that he had suffered while in police custody, the excessive length of his pre-trial detention and the unfairness of the criminal proceedings brought against him.

The Court declared the application admissible with regard to the complaints under Article 6 § 1 and declared inadmissible the remainder of the application. It concluded unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 6 § 1 on account of the lack of independence and impartiality of Istanbul State Security Court and the excessive length (more than eight years) of the proceedings before that court. (The judgment is available only in French.)