Hamşioğlu v. Turkey (2036/04)

Date	20080219
Article	5
Decision	violation

Violation of Article 5 §§ 1 and 5

Hamşioğlu v. Turkey (no. 2036/04)

The applicant, Doğan Hamşioğlu, is a Turkish national who was born in 1960.

The case concerns in particular the applicant’s late release despite an order to release him having been issued. He relied on Article 5 §§ 1 and 5 (right to liberty and security).

The Court noted that there was nothing to suggest that the Turkish authorities had taken the measures necessary to expedite communication of the applicant’s file to the prosecutor responsible for implementing the release order. Neither had the authorities accelerated arrangements for the arrival of a relative of the applicant, despite the fact that his release had been pronounced several days earlier, whereas a circular of the Turkish Ministry of Justice stipulated that a detainee had to be released in the presence of a relative. Consequently the Court held, unanimously, that there had been a violation of Article 5 § 1. It also considered that no remedy had been available to the applicant by which to obtain compensation for his detention and held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 5 § 5. The Court awarded Mr Hamşioğlu 3,000 euros (EUR) for non-pecuniary damage and EUR 3,000 for costs and expenses. (The judgment is available only in French.)