Materials pertaining to the case filed by Yasin Ateş against the Republic of Turkey with the European Commission of Human Rights (application number 30949/96; referred to internally within the Kurdish Litigation Project as Case 230 and assigned to Anke Stock as lead) over the death of his son, Kadri Ateş at the hands of police officers.
In 1995, Kadri Ateş worked for a wholesale food business in Diyarbakır and left with colleagues to sell food in Kulp. On 13 June 1995, while traveling, their lorry was stopped by police near Lice. Four police officers blocked the road and conducted identity checks, taking Kadri's colleague and another passenger to a police checkpoint, while others waited in the lorry. When Kadri's father-in-law arrived to inquire, he was stopped by police.
The men were eventually told they needed to return to Diyarbakır due to issues with cheques, even though some stated they were merely passengers. Kadri was taken in a police car, and they were informed they were being taken to the military. After stopping outside the Riot Police Directorate, Kadri and his father-in-law were taken to a cell where they were tortured, with Kadri enduring hours of screams and abuse. After violent interrogation, the officers threatened Vehbi with death, suggesting Kadri had been killed and that he would meet the same fate.
As the days passed, Vehbi was moved to another cell and continued to be abused, including being shown tape recordings played at high volumes meant to torture inmates. On the 15th day, he learned that Kadri had been reported dead in a clash, which he believed was false. An official report later claimed that Kadri was killed in a firefight while helping set an ambush for PKK members, but the applicant, Kadri's father, believed he was murdered during police custody. Eventually, Kadri's body was exhumed and buried in Kulp, even after questions about his death. The Turkish Government, on the other hand, claimed that Kadri was killed in the crossfire of a gunfight when attempting to escape after terrorist forces opened fire on the police during the checkpoint stop on 13 June. Turkish officials claimed that Kadri and two others were killed at that spot, while the remaining members of the party escaped. On 30 June 1995 Fetih Aktaş, Cengiz Yılmaz, Burhan Afşin, Gürgün Can and Vehbi Demir were questioned by the Diyarbakır Court Prosecutor, who on 5 July 1995 filed an indictment with that court in which the five men were accused of the offence of membership of a terrorist organisation. On 16 November 1995 the Diyarbakır Court acquitted the five men for a lack of sufficient evidence.
The application was transmitted to the Court on 1 November 1998, when Protocol No. 11 to the Convention came into force. By a decision of 19 October 1999, the Court declared the application admissible. Yasin Ateş died on 19 May 2001 and his son Bidayet Ateş continued the application. On 31 May 2005, the Court unanimously found that the Government were liable for the death of the applicant's son in violation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and found the Government in violation of Articles 2, 5 § 1, and 13 of the Convention. Bidayet Ateş was awarded €60,000 in pecuniary damages and €12,000 in costs and expenses. €20,000 was awarded to Kadri Ateş’s widow, and €3,500 was awarded to beneficiaries of the estate of Yasin Ateş. A full copy of the judgment is available for viewing at https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/?i=001-69216.
