Sub-sub-series 11 - Behçet Avşar

2 files

Materials pertaining to the case filed by Behçet Avşar, European correspondent for the Özgür Gündem newspaper (a newspaper that was known for its extensive reporting on the Kurdish-Turkish conflict, and endured numerous publication bans with its editors and reporters frequently arrested, prosecuted, and accused of making propaganda for the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK)), against the Republic of Turkey with the European Commission of Human Rights (application number 25657/94, referred to internally within the Kurdish Litigation Project as Case 118 and assigned to Kevin Boyle as lead; Philip Leach of the Kurdish Human Rights Project took over the case in March 2000) regarding the kidnapping and extrajudicial killing of his brother, Mehmet Şerif Avşar, by village guards.
The Avşar family, led by Süleyman Avşar with 16 children, became central to this situation. His son Şerif, born in 1966, was married with two children and worked with his brothers in a fertiliser business. Some family members had legal issues related to alleged PKK activities, including Behçet, who had previously fled to Germany after being convicted and sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment for said alleged activities.
On 21 April 1994, Lieutenant Altınoluk ordered five village guards to assist in detaining suspects in Diyarbakır. The car they used belonged to a person detained for PKK activities. After arriving, they were assigned to apprehend Şerif without clear authorisation. On 22 April, they took Şerif from his family's business, and witnesses later saw him being taken to the gendarmerie. The family complained to the authorities, naming some of the abductors. The car used in the abduction was found later. An identification parade occurred on May 5, where four village guards and another individual were identified. During the investigation, the village guards confessed but claimed the abduction and killing had been carried out under the orders of informant Mesat Mehmetoğlu and a gendarme special sergeant (later identified as Gültekin Şütçü).
On 7 May 1994, Şerif was found dead in a disused building along the highway 19 km from Diyarbakır, having been shot twice in the head. Various events followed, including an attempted abduction of two of his cousins and a trial that began on 5 July 1994. During the trial, the village guards retracted statements, claiming they acted under orders. The Avşar family faced intimidation and had to move to Istanbul. In 1998, the Susurluk report implicated specific officers linked to Şerif's death. By March 2000, a court convicted six defendants, resulting in imprisonment sentences, while an arrest warrant was issued for Şütçü, who by this time had fled to Bulgaria.
On 27 March 2003, the European Court of Human Rights ruled by 6 votes to 1 that there had been violations of Articles 2 and 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Şerif Avşar’s widow and children were awarded £40,000 in pecuniary damages and £20,000 in on-pecuniary damages, while Behçet Avşar was awarded £2,500 in non-pecuniary damages and £17,320 in costs and expenses. The full judgment is available for viewing at https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/?i=001-59562