ŞENGÜNER v. TURKEY
Inadmissible
András Sajó;Egidijus Kūris;Guido Raimondi;Jon Fridrik Kjølbro;Nebojša Vučinić;Robert Spano
1. The applicants, Mr Şeyhmus Şengüner and Ms Emine Şengüner, are Turkish nationals, who were born in 1943 and live in Diyarbakır. They were represented before the Court by Ms C. Turhallı Balsak, a lawyer practising in Diyarbakır. 2. 3. On 30 May 2005 the applicants’ son, Zeydin Şengüner, started his compulsory military service. On 15 August 2005, suffering from nausea and gastric bleeding, he applied to the infirmary of his regiment. On the same day he was transferred to the Erzincan Military Hospital, where he underwent two surgical operations, on 15 and 17 August 2005. Following receipt of the pathology report, he was diagnosed as suffering from nonHodgkin’s lymphoma and on 6 September 2005 he was transferred to the Oncology Department of the Ankara GATA Hospital, where he received six cycles of chemotherapy. While he was receiving treatment, a tumour was discovered in his brain and he was treated with radiotherapy. He died on 6 January 2006. 4. The applicants initiated compensation proceedings before the Military Supreme Administrative Court and maintained that the authorities had been at fault, as harsh military conditions had had a negative effect on their son’s health and there had been a delay in the diagnosis of his illness. 5. During the proceedings, the court asked for an expert report to determine whether any fault could be attributed to the military authorities for the death of the applicants’ son. In a report dated 19 June 2008, the experts concluded that the applicants’ son had received adequate medical treatment in one of the most advanced hospitals in Turkey. They maintained that despite modern treatment options being available, the mortality rate for sufferers of nonHodgkin’s lymphoma was very high and no fault could be attributed to the authorities for the death of the applicants’ son. They further stated that his cancer had not been related to his serving in the military. 6. On 23 July 2008 the Military Supreme Administrative Court dismissed the applicants’ case. In delivering its judgment, the court relied on the expert report and concluded that no fault could be attributed to the military authorities for the death of the applicants’ son. Subsequently, on 28 October 2008, a rectification request lodged by the applicants was rejected. This decision was served on them on 14 November 2008.