Mehmet Ümit Erdem v. Turkey (42234/02)

Date	20080717
Article	3
Decision	no viol.

No violation of Article 3 (treatment)

Violation of Article 3 (investigation)

Mehmet Ümit Erdem v. Turkey (no. 42234/02)

The applicant, Mehmet Ümit Erdem, is a Turkish national who was born in 1976 and lives in Istanbul. He is a lawyer.

The case concerned Mr Erdem’s allegation that, during an anti-war protest organised by a number of political parties and non-governmental organisations on 14 October 2001 in Istanbul, the police had sprayed pepper gas in his face, kicked him and beat him with truncheons. He also complained that the Turkish authorities had failed to investigate adequately his allegations. He relied, in particular, on Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment).

The Court considered that the facts and evidence available were insufficient to conclude “beyond reasonable doubt” that Turkey was responsible for the injuries sustained by the applicant on 14 October 2001. The Court therefore concluded unanimously that there had been no violation of Article 3.

However, the Court found that entrusting the Istanbul Governor with the investigation into the incident, himself responsible for the police officers who had allegedly caused the applicant’s injuries, had to call into question the independence and impartiality of his decision not to prosecute. Accordingly, the Court concluded unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 3 on account of the failure of the authorities to conduct an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the injuries sustained by the applicant. Mr Erdem was awarded EUR 5,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage and EUR 500 for costs and expenses. (The judgment is available only in English.)