Samsa v. Turkey (3372/05)

Date	20080701
Article	6(1), 13
Decision	violation

Violation of Article 6 § 1 (length)

Violation of Article 13

Samsa v. Turkey (no. 3372/05)

The applicant, Nurettin Samsa, is a Turkish national who was born in 1976 and lives in Gaziantep (Turkey).

The case concerned the applicant’s complaint about the length of criminal proceedings brought against him in October 1998 for forgery of documents. In a judgment of 21 June 2004, the Gaziantep Criminal Court decided to acquit him. The applicant relied on Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time) and 13 (right to an effective remedy).

The Court concluded unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 6 § 1 and Article 13. It awarded the applicant EUR 5,000 for the non-pecuniary damage sustained. (The judgment is available only in French.)