Materials pertaining to the case filed by Salih Tekin, a journalist for the newspaper Özgür Gündem, on 14 July 1993 against the Republic of Turkey with the European Commission of Human Rights (application number 22496/93, later given European Court of Human Rights case number 52/1997/836/1042, referred to internally within the Kurdish Litigation Project as Case 6 and assigned to Kevin Boyle as lead) regarding his arrest and detention by gendarmerie in February 1993. Supplementary materials pertaining to this case are located at A44/43/6/86.
It was not disputed that in February 1993, during a visit to his family in the hamlet of Yassıtepe, the applicant was arrested, on suspicion of threatening village guards, by gendarmes under the command of Officer Harun Altın and taken to Derinsu gendarmerie headquarters. Tekin alleged that his arrest took place on the morning of 15 February 1993, whereas the Government claimed that it occurred on 17 February 1993. Tekin was held at Derinsu until 19 February 1993. He alleged that during his time in custody there he was detained in a cell without any lighting, bed or blankets, in sub-zero temperatures, and fed with only bread and water. He claimed to have been assaulted in his cell by gendarmes, including Officer Altın. He stated that he would have died of cold had his three brothers not been permitted to enter his cell on the night of 18 February and wrapped him in extra clothing. The Government denied that Tekin had been ill-treated. They stated that it would have been impossible for the temperature in the security room to have dropped below freezing-point, since it was situated in the centre of the building and surrounded by other units heated by coal-burning stoves. They also denied that his brothers had been allowed to join him there. On the morning of 19 February 1993, Tekin was taken to Derik district gendarmerie headquarters. He was released on the same day. Tekin alleged to have been tortured at Derik, through the application of cold water, electric shocks and beatings, with the purpose of forcing him to sign a confession statement. He claimed that the district gendarmerie commander, Musa Çitil, threatened him with death if he returned to the area, Tekin contended that the threats he experienced as well as the severity of his treatment, especially at Derinsu, were motivated in part by his employment as a journalist for the newspaper Özgür Gündem, which, because of its Kurdish separatist stance, was considered hostile by those who abused him. He stated that on his arrest and at Derinsu gendarme station he was questioned by officer Altın about his work as a journalist and was threatened with death because of it. The Government contested that any ill-treatment had taken place.
On 8 June 1998, the European Court of Human Rights ruled: that there had been no violations of Articles 2, 10, 14, or 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights (unanimous); that there had been a violation of Article 3 (6 votes to 3); and that there had been a violation of Article 13 (8 votes to 1. The Turkish Government was ordered to pay Salih Tekin £10,000 sterling in non-pecuniary damages and £15,000 sterling in legal fees and expenses. The full judgment is available for viewing at https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/?i=001-58196.
