Mehmet Ali Çelik v. Turkey (42296/07)

Date	20090127
Article	5(3), 6(1)
Decision	violation

The applicant, Mehmet Ali Çelik, is a Turkish national who was born in 1972 and is currently remanded in custody in Diyarbakır Prison. He relied on Article 5 §§ 3 and 4 (right to liberty and security), Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial within a reasonable time) and Article 13 (right to an effective remedy). The Court held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 5 § 3 on account of the excessive length – almost ten years and three months – of Mr Çelik’s pre-trial detention, and a further violation of Article 5 § 4 on account of the unlawfulness of his detention and the lack of a remedy in that connection. Lastly, the Court held that there had been a violation of Article 6 § 1 on account of the length of the proceedings and a further violation of Article 13 in respect of the lack of an effective remedy under Turkish law by which to complain of the length of the proceedings at issue. Mr Çelik was awarded EUR 12,500 in respect of non-pecuniary damage. (The judgment is available only in English.)