Foka v. Turkey (28940/95)

Date	20080624
Article	3, 5
Decision	no viol.

No violation of Article 3

No violation of Article 5

Violation of Article 10

Foka v. Turkey (no. 28940/95)

The applicant, Eleni Foka, is a Cypriot national who was born in 1947 and lives in Nicosia. She is a retired school teacher. At the relevant time she lived and worked in the village Ayia Triada in the Karpas region of northern Cyprus.

The case concerned Ms Foka’s allegation that, on her way back to Ayia Triada in January 1995 from southern Cyprus where she had spent the Christmas holidays with her family, she was arrested and ill-treated by Turkish-Cypriot customs officers at the Ledra Palace checkpoint. She also alleged that her bag was searched and its contents (notably cassettes, books, a diary and a map) were confiscated and that she was persecuted because of her ethnic origin, religious beliefs and her opposition to the Turkish military occupation of the northern part of Cyprus. She relied on Articles 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment), 5 (right to liberty and security), 10 (freedom of expression), 8 (right to respect for private and family life), 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion) and 14 (prohibition of discrimination).

The Court held unanimously that there had been no violations of Articles 3 or 5, and that there had been a violation of Article 10. The Court further held unanimously that it was not necessary to examine whether there had been a violation of Articles 8, 9 and 14. Ms Foka was awarded EUR 300 in respect of pecuniary damage and EUR 5,000 for costs and expenses. (The judgment is available only in English.)