Materials pertaining to the case filed by Cemil Kılıç on 13 August 1993 against the Republic of Turkey with the European Commission of Human Rights (application number 22492/93, referred to internally within the Kurdish Litigation Project as Case 38 and assigned to Françoise Hampson as lead) regarding the murder of his brother, Kemal Kılıç, a journalist for the Turkish Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem, on 18 February 1993.
Kemal Kılıç was a journalist and member of the Şanlıurfa Human Rights Association who worked for the newspaper Özgür Gündem. This newspaper focused on representing Turkish Kurdish opinions and was published from May 1992 to April 1994. Özgür Gündem faced significant legal challenges owing to allegations that it published PKK declarations and incited separatist sentiments. A police raid on its Istanbul office in December 1993 led to charges against its editors, managers, and owner. Following the newspaper's demise, its successor, Özgür Ülke, had its office bombed in 1994. Kılıç reported threats against staff involved in the distribution of Özgür Gündem. On 23 December 1992, he informed the Şanlıurfa governor of these threats, requesting protective measures due to a series of attacks and assaults against the newspaper's distributors. However, the governor's office rejected his plea for security on 30 December 1992, stating there were no active threats in the area. Despite ongoing attacks, Kılıç issued another press release on 11 January 1993, highlighting continuing violence against newspaper distributors and criticized the governor for failing to provide security. This led to legal action against him for allegedly insulting the governor. Kılıç was detained briefly on 18 January 1993 after the governor's complaint.
On 18 February 1993, Kemal Kılıç left the newspaper office in the centre of Şanlıurfa and walked to the coach station. At about 5.30, he caught the Şanlıurfa to Akçale coach from Kuyubaşı. Before the coach reached the junction of the main road with the road to Külünçe, it was overtaken by a white Renault car, which turned into the village road, turned around and parked, with its headlights off. The car was noticed at about 6.20 p.m. by Ahmet Fidan, a night watchman at a nearby construction site. Kemal Kılıç was the only passenger to leave the coach when it stopped at the junction. He walked up the road towards the village. Ahmet Fidan heard voices arguing and a cry for help, followed by two shots. The incident was reported to the gendarmes who rapidly arrived on the scene. Kemal Kılıç's body was discovered with two bullet wounds in the head. The applicant and other members of his family came from the village to see what had happened.
The central district gendarmerie commander took charge of the investigation at the scene. Two cartridges were found and handed over to the public prosecutor when he arrived. The victim's mouth was found to have been covered with four strips of packaging tape and there was a rope around his neck. A piece of paper bearing the letters U and Y, stained with blood, was also discovered. A sketch map of the scene was drawn up. An autopsy concluded he died from severe brain injuries caused by the gunshot wounds. The investigation included collecting witness statements, searching Kılıç's residence, and examining items related to the case. Despite ongoing inquiry, by August 1993, the public prosecutor acknowledged the inability to identify Kılıç's killers, yet decided to continue the investigation until a twenty-year limitation period elapsed.
In late December 1993, police captured a suspect related to an armed attack in Diyarbakır. Ballistics revealed a pistol linked to Kılıç's murder. Hüseyin Güney, an arrested individual, was charged with various offenses including Kılıç's murder, although he later retracted his confession, alleging it was coerced. The trial proceeded over several years, with consistent denials of guilt from Güney despite evidence tying him to the weapon used in Kılıç's assassination. In its judgment of 23 March 1999, the court convicted Hüseyin Güney of being a member of a separatist organisation, the Hizbullah. Hüseyin Güney was sentenced to life imprisonment. Following the court's decision, the Diyarbakır National Security Court chief public prosecutor opened an investigation into the killing of Kemal Kılıç. By letter dated 20 December 1999, the prosecutor instructed the Şanlıurfa gendarmerie command to report to him every three months concerning any evidence obtained about the Kılıç murder. The Court observed ‘that the investigation by the gendarmes and the Şanlıurfa public prosecutor after the incident did not include any inquiries as to the possible targeting of Kemal Kılıç due to his job as an Özgür Gündem journalist. The fact that the case was transferred to the National Security Court prosecutor indicates that it was regarded as a separatist crime. There is no indication that any steps have been taken to investigate any collusion by security forces in the incident.’
On 28 March 2000, the European Court of Human Rights ruled unanimously that there had been violations of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights and ruled 6 votes to 1 that there had been a violation of Article 13. The Turkish Government was ordered to pay the heirs of Kemal Kılıç £15,000 sterling in non-pecuniary damages, and to pay Cemil Kılıç £2,500 in non-pecuniary damages and £20,000 in legal costs and expenses (less 4,200 French francs received in legal aid). The full judgment is available for viewing at https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/?i=001-58524
