Gülen v. Turkey (28226/02)

Date	20081014
Article	2
Decision	violation

No violation of Article 2 (life)

Violation of Article 2 (investigation)

Gülen v. Turkey (no. 28226/02)

The applicants, Fatma Gülen and Necdet Gülen, are Turkish nationals who were born in 1942 and 1931 respectively and live in Germany. They are the parents of Ayşe Gülen Uzunhasanoğlu who was killed during a police operation conducted by the Anti-Terrorism Branch of the Istanbul Security Directorate on 17 April 1992.

They relied on Article 2 (right to life).

The Court noted that a violent clash had taken place between the police and the applicants’ daughter and another armed suspect during which the first shot had been fired by the deceased. The Court therefore considered that the use of lethal force in the circumstances, however regrettable, had not exceeded what had been “absolutely necessary” for the purposes of self-defence and in order to effect a lawful arrest. There had therefore been no violation of Article 2 as regards the killing of Ayşe Gülen Uzunhasanoğlu. However, the authorities’ investigation into the circumstances surrounding her killing, lasting more than nine years, could not be described as a prompt response to the allegation of unnecessary and disproportionate use of force and the Court therefore held that there had been a violation of Article 2 in that respect.

The Court awarded Fatma Gülen and Necdet Gülen, jointly, EUR 10,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage, and EUR 3,000 for costs and expenses. (The judgment is available only in English.)