Selvi v. Turkey (5047/02)

Date	20081209
Article	3
Decision	violation

The applicant, Yahya Selvi, is a Turkish national who was born in 1973 and lives in İzmir.

Relying on Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment and lack of effective investigation), Mr Selvi complained, in particular, that he was ill-treated by officers of the anti-terrorist branch of the İzmir police when they came to his house in May 2001 in search of his uncle, suspected of having participated in an illegal demonstration.

The Court held unanimously that there had been no violation of Article 3 concerning the applicant’s allegation that he had been ill-treated by police officers as the material in the case file did not prove that allegation beyond reasonable doubt. However, the Court held that there had been a violation of Article 3 on account of the authorities’ failure to investigate the applicant’s allegation of ill-treatment. Mr Selvi was awarded EUR 3,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage. (The judgment is available only in English.)