5.  The applicants were born in 1958, 1972 and 1970 respectively. At the time of the introduction of the application, they were living in Istanbul. They currently live in Germany and Switzerland. 6.  On 15, 16 and 17 June 1995, as part of a police operation against an illegal organisation, the TKP-ML/TIKKO[2], the applicants were arrested and taken into custody at the anti-terrorist branch of the Istanbul Security Directorate. 7.  On 28 June 1995 the applicants were brought before the public prosecutor at the Istanbul State Security Court, where they maintained that they had been interrogated under duress and ill-treated by the police during their ten days in custody. They contended that they had been beaten, punched, hosed, subjected to Palestinian hanging, deprived of sleep, threatened with death and sexually harassed. They added that, whilst being hung, electric shocks were administered to them through cables attached to their genitals. 8.  On the same day the applicants were examined by a doctor at the Forensic Medicine Institute who noted the following marks on their bodies:
–Durmuş Kurt: one yellow and one green lesion of 2 x 2 cm on the right shoulder, a lesion of 3 x 0,5 cm on the inner part of the upper arm. The doctor certified him unfit for work for three days.
–Nurettin Kılıçaslan[3]: four scab-covered lesions of 5 x 0.5 cm which are positioned parallel to each other in the right armpit and a graze of 5 x 1 cm on the right thigh. The doctor certified him unfit for work for three days.
–Zübeyde Kayar: three scab-covered lesions measuring 4 x 0.5 cm which are positioned parallel to each other in the left armpit. The doctor noted that she had complained of pain and numbness in both arms and hands. He further noted impaired movement in both arms. However, he considered that a final report could only be drawn up once she had been examined by a hospital neurology service. It appears from the case file, however, that the additional examination was never carried out. 9.  On 21 July 1995 the Istanbul public prosecutor decided that he did not have jurisdiction over the case and transmitted the case file to the Fatih public prosecutor for investigation. 10.  On 15 November 1995 the Fatih public prosecutor decided not to prosecute the on-duty police officers who had allegedly ill-treated the applicants whilst in custody, for lack of evidence. 11.  On 27 November 1996 the International Law and Foreign Relations Directorate of the Ministry of Justice notified the Istanbul public prosecutor that one of the applicants' co-detainees had filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights[4] concerning the allegations of torture during the same custody period. The letter stated that the decision of non-prosecution of 15 November 1995 issued by the Fatih public prosecutor lacked sufficient reasoning, and that a more comprehensive investigation had to be conducted into the allegations of ill-treatment. 12.  On 16 July 1997 the Fatih public prosecutor sent a report to the Istanbul public prosecutor, summarising the facts and the applicants' complaints that they had been tortured whilst in custody between 15 and 28 June 1995 by officers working at the anti-terrorist branch of the Istanbul Security Directorate. The Fatih public prosecutor requested the Istanbul public prosecutor to file a bill of indictment with the Istanbul Assize Court, charging five police officers with torture, pursuant to Article 243 § 1 of the Criminal Code. 13.  By an indictment filed on 2 September 1997, the public prosecutor instituted criminal proceedings in the Istanbul Assize Court against five police officers for having tortured the applicants and for professional misconduct. 14.  On 27 October 1997 the Istanbul Assize Court heard four of these officers. They denied having ill-treated the applicants. The applicants maintained that they had been subjected to ill-treatment. On the same day, the applicants filed a petition with the court for permission to intervene in the proceedings as civil parties. 15.  On 29 December 1997 the fifth police officer's statement was taken by the Tunceli Assize Court and sent to the Istanbul Assize Court. 16.  On 9 October 1998 the court heard witnesses who confirmed that the applicants had been subjected to torture, and the applicants identified two of the defendant police officers who had allegedly ill-treated them. 17.  In hearings on 30 October 1998 and 9 November 2000, the applicants identified other defendant police officers who had allegedly participated in the acts of torture. 18.  On 19 November 2002, the Istanbul Assize Court decided to discontinue the proceedings against four police officers as the prosecution of the offences had become time-barred. The Assize Court acquitted the fifth police officer for insufficient evidence. 19.  On 23 January 2003 the applicants appealed to the Court of Cassation against this judgment. On 20 October 2004 the Court of Cassation upheld the judgment of the Istanbul Assize Court.