4.  The applicant was born in 1954 and was serving his prison sentence in Ceyhan prison at the time of his application to the Court. 5.  On 11 August 1995 the applicant was arrested and taken into custody in Mersin on suspicion of membership of an illegal organisation, namely the TKP/ML-TIKKO[1]. On the same day the applicant was examined by a doctor at the Mersin State Hospital who did not find any signs of ill‑treatment on the applicant’s body. 6.  On 23 August 1995 the applicant was examined by a doctor at the Mersin State Hospital who did not find any signs of ill‑treatment on the applicant’s body. 7.  On 24 August 1995 the applicant was brought before a judge at the State Security Court who ordered his detention on remand. 8.  The public prosecutor at the Konya State Security Court in his indictment, dated 20 September 1995, accused the applicant of membership of an illegal organisation. The charges were brought under Article 168 § 1 of the Criminal Code and Article 5 of Law no. 3713. 9.  In the meantime, on 12 October 1995, the applicant filed a petition with the Mersin public prosecutor (hereinafter: “the prosecutor”) and claimed that he had been subjected to ill-treatment while he was held in police custody. On an unspecified date, the prosecutor instigated an investigation into the applicant’s allegations. 10.  On 16 October 1995 the criminal proceedings against the applicant and two other accused commenced before the Konya State Security Court. 11.  On 13 November 1995 the prosecutor took the statement of the applicant. In his deposition, the applicant submitted, in particular, that he had been hung up, subjected to electric shocks and hosed with pressurised water. He further stated that, during interrogation, his hands and feet had been beaten with a hard object. Finally, he gave the names of four detainees who witnessed the incident. 12.  On 15 November 1995, upon the request of the prosecutor, the applicant was examined by a doctor at the Konya Forensic Medicine Department who noted healed superficial grazes under the armpits and a healed wound of about 1 mm on one of the fingers of the applicant’s right hand. She further found a loss of pigment of 1x2 mm on the applicant’s penis. 13.  The prosecutor took the statements of two police officers who had interrogated the applicant on 17 November 1995 and 3 December 1997. They both denied the allegations of the applicant. The prosecutor also took the witness statements of three detainees (Mr D.B., Mr Y.A. and Mr M.U.). They all affirmed, in particular, that they saw the applicant bleeding from under his armpits during his stay in custody. 14.  In the meantime, at the hearing held on 28 November 1995 the first‑instance court heard witnesses on behalf of the applicant. Four witnesses (Mr D.B., Mr Y.A., Mr M.U. and Mr A.Ö) maintained that they had seen the applicant during his detention in the Security Directorate and that he had bruises on his face and armpits. In the course of the criminal proceedings, the Konya State Security Court decided to join the proceedings against the applicant to several other cases brought against other persons who were also accused of membership of the same organisation. 15.  On 12 June 1997, the Adana State Security Court acquired jurisdiction over the case since the Konya State Security Court had been abolished by Law no. 4210 on 19 May 1997. 16.  On 4 December 1997 the prosecutor, taking into account the contents of the medical reports dated 11 and 23 August 1995 and the fact that it was not possible to determine whether the physical findings noted in the medical report of 15 November 1995 - three months after the applicant’s stay in custody - were the result of ill-treatment, decided that no prosecution should be brought against the two police officers who had interrogated the applicant. The prosecutor found in this connection that there was insufficient evidence in support of the allegations. This decision was not served on the applicant. 17.  Between 12 June 1997 and 14 July 1998 the Adana State Security Court held sixteen hearings at regular intervals. 18.  On 14 July 1998 the Adana State Security Court convicted the applicant as charged and sentenced him to fourteen years and seven months’ imprisonment. 19.  On 20 April 1999 the Court of Cassation held a hearing and upheld the judgment of the first-instance court. The applicant’s representative failed to attend the hearing. 20.  On 24 December 2004 the Adana Assize Court suspended the execution of the applicant’s sentence and ordered his release from prison in light of the provisions of the new Criminal Code.