4.  The applicant was born in 1951 and lives in İzmir. 5.  On 11 April 2000 the İzmir State Security Court ordered the confiscation of the applicant's car on the ground that it had been used during the commission of a crime. The applicant did not wish to surrender his car. 6.  On a unspecified date, the İzmir public prosecutor took a statement from the applicant and on 10 July 2001 he filed a bill of indictment with the İzmir Magistrate's Court accusing the applicant of “not obeying the official authorities' order”. He requested that the applicant be punished, pursuant to Article 526 § 1 of the Turkish Criminal Code. 7.  On 17 July 2001 the İzmir Magistrate's Court, without holding a public hearing, issued a penal order pursuant to Article 386 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It decided over the content of the case file and sentenced the applicant to three months' imprisonment and a fine of 35,591,400 Turkish liras (TRL). The court then commuted the imprisonment to a fine and sentenced the applicant to a total fine of TRL 249,139,300[1]. 8.  On 13 August 2001 the applicant challenged this decision before the İzmir Criminal Court. He requested that the Criminal Court hold a hearing to examine his appeal. 9.  On 24 August 2001, the İzmir Criminal Court upheld the decision of the Magistrate's Court without a hearing, noting that it was in accordance with the law and procedure. 10.  The applicant paid the fine in question on 10 December 2001.