Sub-sub-series 20 - İzzet Çakıcı 

13 files

Materials pertaining to the case filed by İzzet Çakıcı on 2 May 1994 against the Republic of Turkey with the European Commission of Human Rights (application number 23657/94, later given case number 136/1998/1039/1254, referred to internally within the Kurdish Litigation Project as Case 111 and assigned to Françoise Hampson as lead) regarding the disappearance of his brother, Ahmet Çakıcı. Supplementary materials pertaining to this case are located at A44/43/6/22.
On 8 November 1993, Ahmet Çakıcı was detained during an operation in the village of Çitlibahçe carried out by gendarmes and village guards. When the operation commenced early in the morning, Ahmet hid in a house near the fountain while the other men were gathered in an open area. The security forces began setting fire to the houses. Ahmet retrieved money, which he had hidden in the roof of his house and was caught leaving the house. Ahmet was taken from the village by the security forces. This was witnessed by the other villagers. The money was taken from Ahmet by a first lieutenant. Remziye Çakıcı, Ahmet’s wife, was told by a boy from the village that he had seen a gendarme take money from Ahmet. Ahmet was first taken to Hazro, where he was kept overnight before being taken to Diyarbakır. In Diyarbakır, he was detained at the provincial gendarmerie headquarters. After about six to seven days, he was held for sixteen to seventeen days in the same room as Mustafa Engin, Abdurrahman Al and Tahsin Demirtaş, who had been taken into custody on 8 November 1993 by the security forces in an operation at Bağlan. Ahmet had been beaten; a rib being broken and his head split open. He was taken out of the room for interrogation on several occasions, when he received electric shocks and was beaten. Mustafa Engin was also told by Ahmet that a first lieutenant had taken money from him. At the end of this period, the other three detainees were brought before the court. Engin and Demirbaş were released, and Abdurrahman Al was remanded in custody. Engin did not see Ahmet again. After eighty-five days at the provincial gendarmerie headquarters, in or about late January-early February 1994, Ahmet was taken back to Hazro where he was detained for several months. From there he was moved to the gendarmerie station at Kavaklıboğaz. During a period of thirteen days in or about spring or early summer 1994, Hikmet Aksoy, who was also detained at Kavaklıboğaz, saw Ahmet when they were taken out of the cells for meals. At the end of that period, Aksoy was transferred to Lice. In May 1996, following the transmission of Government submissions to the Commission, İzzet Çakıcı learned for the first time that it was claimed by the authorities that Ahmet Çakıcı had been killed in a clash between 17 and 19 February 1995 on Kıllıboğan Hill, Hani. The identification appeared to be based solely on the claim that Ahmet Çakıcı’s identification card was found on one of the bodies.
The Government disputed this account, stating that Ahmet Çakıcı was not taken into custody by the security forces during the operation carried out at Çitlibahçe on 8 November 1993 and was not held in detention over any subsequent period. Custody records indicated that he was not held at Hazro or at Diyarbakır provincial gendarmerie headquarters. Nor was he was taken to the gendarmerie station at Kavaklıboğaz. The Government claimed that Ahmet was a militant member of the PKK and was found dead along with 55 other militants following the aforementioned clash between the PKK and the security forces at Kıllıboğan Hill. The Government had also implicated Ahmet Çakıcı in the killing on 23 October 1993 of five teachers from Dadaş whom he had reportedly described as “servile dogs of the State” and claimed that he most probably disappeared after this incident with the intention of escaping justice and continuing activities for the PKK.
On 8 July 1999, the European Court of Human Rights ruled unanimously that there has been a violation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights; ruled unanimously that there has been a violation of Article 3 in respect of the applicant’s brother; ruled by 14 votes to 3 that there had been no violation of Article 3 in respect of the applicant; ruled unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 5; ruled by 16 votes to 1 that there had been a violation of Article 13; ruled unanimously that there has been no violation of Article 14; and ruled unanimously that there had been no violation of Article 18. The Government were ordered to pay Ahmet Çakıcı’s spouse and heirs £11,239.11 sterling in pecuniary damages and £25,000 sterling in non-pecuniary damages. İzzet Çakıcı was awarded £2,500 in non-pecuniary damages and £20,000 (less 7,000 French francs received in legal aid) in costs and expenses.
The full judgment is available for viewing at https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-58282.
Materials relating to a separate application pertaining to the 8 November 1994 events in Çitlibahçe filed by Zübeyde Dulaş, whose house was destroyed during the operation, can be found at A44/43/1/25.

The files in this sub-sub-series are equivalent to Tabs 1 through 11 in Hampson’s filing system, plus materials from a second binder which compiled documents pertaining to the case memorials and judgment, and documents placed in sleeves at the front of the main casefile binder.