4.  The applicant was born in 1979. At the time of the introduction of the application, he was detained in the Kırıkkale F-type prison. 5.  On 24 April 1999 the applicant was arrested by the police officers from the anti-terror branch of the Istanbul police. 6.  On 30 April 1999 the applicant was taken before a judge who ordered the applicant’s pre-trial detention. 7.  On 6 May 1999 the public prosecutor at the Istanbul State Security Court filed a bill of indictment against the applicant and two other persons charging them under Article 125 of the former Criminal Code with having carried out activities on behalf of the PKK (the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, an illegal organisation) for the purpose of bringing about the secession of part of the national territory. 8.  In 2004, pursuant to Law no. 5190 abolishing State Security Courts, the case against the applicant was transferred to the Istanbul Assize Court. 9.  On 7 May 2007 the Istanbul Assize Court convicted the applicant as charged and sentenced him to aggravated life imprisonment. It further established, in the light of a number of expert reports, witness testimonies and the statements of the accused, that the applicant and two other persons had planned and executed the bombing of a shopping centre in protest at the arrest of the leader of the PKK. The bombing had caused the death of thirteen innocent people and the injury of numerous persons. 10.  On 7 May 2009 the Court of Cassation upheld the judgment. 11.  The relevant domestic law and practice in force at the material time can be found in the case of Şefik Demir v. Turkey (dec.), no. 51770/07, §§ 11‑15, 16 October 2012.