CASE OF TAŞARSU v. TURKEY
Violation of Article 6+6-3-c - Right to a fair trial (Article 6 - Criminal proceedings;Article 6-1 - Fair hearing) (Article 6 - Right to a fair trial;Article 6-3-c - Defence through legal assistance)
Jon Fridrik Kjølbro;Ledi Bianku;Nebojša Vučinić
5. The applicant was born in 1979 and lives in Adana. 6. On 8 March 2002 the applicant was arrested and taken into custody on suspicion of membership of an illegal organisation. 7. On 9 March 2002 the applicant’s statements were taken by the police in the absence of a lawyer. During the interrogation, the applicant gave a detailed account of her acts within the illegal organisation PKK (the Kurdistan Workers’ Party). 8. On 11 March 2002 the applicant was heard by the public prosecutor and the investigating judge at the Istanbul State Security Court, again in the absence of a lawyer. Before the public prosecutor and the investigating judge, the applicant partially retracted her previous statements maintaining that she had given statements to the police under duress. On the same day, upon the order of the investigating judge, the applicant was placed in pretrial detention. 9. On 18 March 2002 the public prosecutor at the Istanbul State Security Court filed an indictment accusing the applicant of membership of an illegal terrorist organisation under Article 168 of the former Criminal Code. 10. At a hearing held on 31 May 2002, the applicant gave evidence in person in the presence of her lawyer. She stated that she had left Turkey through her own means and that she went to Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Iran with the help of the people whose names she could not remember anymore. She further stated that she had stayed in camps in Greece and Iran. While she was at the camp in Iran she was not involved in many activities owing to her young age. She further maintained that she had wanted to return to Turkey due to her health condition and for family reasons. She further stated that she had turned back to Turkey through the mountains with the help of people who knew the area well. While the applicant was staying at her elder sister’s house, she was arrested by the police. The applicant also claimed that she did not know any of the other accused in the case and that she had not received any training in the camps. Lastly, she stated that she had been called the code name “Ariel” at the camp in Iran. When asked about her statements to the police, the applicant denied them, claiming that they had been taken under duress. When asked about her statements to the public prosecutor, she denied them except for the parts concerning her travel. When asked about her statements to the investigating judge, she denied them claiming once again that the police had put pressure on her. 11. On 16 April 2008, relying on, inter alia, the applicant’s statements to the police, the Istanbul Assize Court convicted the applicant under Article 314 § 2 of the new Turkish Criminal Code and sentenced her to six years and three months’ imprisonment. 12. On 23 December 2010 the Court of Cassation upheld the judgment of the Istanbul Assize Court.