Fedai Şahin v. Turkey (21773/02)

Date	20081021
Article	6(1)
Decision	violation

Violation of Article 6 § 1 (length)

Fedai Şahin v. Turkey (no. 21773/02)

The applicant, Fedai Şahin, is a Turkish national who was born in 1968 and lives in Kocaeli (Turkey).

In November 1992 Mr Şahin was taken into custody in the course of a police operation against an illegal organisation. In May 2008 he was convicted of having been involved in armed attacks, several killings and robberies and sentenced to life imprisonment. The proceedings against him are currently still pending on appeal.

Relying on Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial within a reasonable time), the applicant complained of the excessive length of the criminal proceedings against him.

The Court held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 6 § 1 on account of the proceedings against the applicant having already lasted almost 16 years. Mr Şahin was awarded EUR 13,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage. (The judgment is available only in English.)