Sub-sub-series 39 - Abdurrezak İpek

4 files

Materials pertaining to the case filed by Abdurrezak İpek on 18 November 1994 against the Republic of Turkey with the European Commission of Human Rights (application number 25760/94, referred to internally within the Kurdish Litigation Project as Case 164 and assigned to Bill Bowring as lead) regarding the alleged unacknowledged detention and subsequent disappearance of the applicant's two sons, Servet and İkram İpek, in the course of an operation conducted by security forces in his village of Türeli, Lice District, Diyarbakır Province, on 18 May 1994. It further pertains to the alleged destruction of his family home and property by the security forces during the same operation.
On 17 May 1994, Abdurrezak İpek and his son, İkram İpek, were tending sheep near Türeli village when soldiers asked for identification. Following this interaction, on 18 May, while returning to their hamlet, they encountered approximately 100 soldiers who raided Türeli. Armed and accompanied by a helicopter, the soldiers herded the villagers, including the applicant and İkram, to a school outside the hamlet while young girls were instructed to stay behind. The soldiers threatened the gathered villagers and began setting homes ablaze, leading to the destruction of both the applicant's and his brother's houses.
As flames engulfed the hamlet, the soldiers intimidated the villagers into silence. After most homes were burned, villagers were released, but İkram and his brother Servet, along with other men, were taken to help the soldiers carry their gear. Upon returning, the applicant discovered that many homes had been set on fire by soldiers using a white powder. When some homes remained unburned, the soldiers returned around 3:30 p.m., intent on finishing the destruction, and did so despite the villagers' defences.
Inquiring about her sons, İkram and Servet, the applicant's wife was met with incomprehension by the soldiers when she spoke Kurdish; they claimed the sons were in Lice and would be released soon. Following the soldiers' departure that evening, the applicant's family, having lost everything, took refuge in an evacuated house in the nearby hamlet of Kalenderesi. They survived in extreme poverty without any government assistance for four months before moving to Diyarbakır.
After the incident, Abdurrezak İpek sought information about his missing sons through various state authorities but received no substantial answers. A letter from a senior colonel denied any operation took place, while another petition revealed the authorities did not have the boys in custody. Moreover, the applicant's efforts to contact the Lice public prosecutor remained fruitless. His son Hakim attempted to get answers from the Governor’s office but was met with denials that led to frustration and anger.
On 23 December 1999, Abdurrezak İpek was called to the Kulp Gendarmerie where he was accused of lying about his sons’ disappearances, Under duress, the applicant was obliged to apply his thumbprint to documents prepared by the gendarmes, the contents of which were not made known to him, in which it was deposed that he had not applied to the “European Human Rights Diyarbakır branch”, nor had he given any statement to the latter body or signed any document in respect of his allegations.
In contrast, the Government claimed no operation occurred in Türeli, asserting that the applicant failed to follow the proper reporting channels regarding his sons' disappearance, denying any involvement by security forces. They noted an investigation was inconclusive and ultimately stated the absence of evidence corroborating the applicant's claims, concluding with a decision not to prosecute security personnel involved.
The Court found that the applicant's sons were taken away from their hamlet and held in unacknowledged detention at a military establishment in Lice by the security forces, that no record of their detention has been produced by the authorities and that they can be presumed to be dead. It also established that the distress and anguish suffered by the applicant on account of the disappearance of his sons and the manner in which the authorities dealt with his complaint constituted inhuman treatment.
On 17 February 2004, the European Court of Human Rights unanimously ruled that there had been violation of Articles 2, 3, 5, 13, and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Turkish Government was ordered to pay €7,000 in pecuniary damages for the heirs of each of Abdurrezak İpek, €24,900 in pecuniary damages and €15,000 in non-pecuniary damages to İpek, and to pay İpek €13,130 in legal costs and expenses (less €1,050 granted in legal aid). The full judgment is available for viewing at https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/?i=001-61636.
The applicant was initially represented before the Court by Kevin Boyle and Françoise Hampson. On 13 March 2000, they stood down in favour of Bill Bowring. On the same date the applicant appointed as his representatives Philip Leach of the Kurdish Human Rights Project and Osman Baydemir, a lawyer practising in Diyarbakır. On 16 August 2002, Leach stood down in favour of Anke Stock of the KHRP.

The files in this sub-sub-series are equivalent to Tabs 1 through 4 in the legal team’s filing system.