Sub-sub-series 40 - Mahmut Kaya

4 files

Materials pertaining to the case filed by Mahmut Kaya on 20 August 1993 against the Republic of Turkey with the European Commission of Human Rights (application number 22535/93, referred to internally within the Kurdish Litigation Project as Case 47 and assigned to Françoise Hampson as lead) regarding the applicant's allegations that his brother, Dr Hasan Kaya, was kidnapped, tortured, and killed by or with the connivance of State agents and that there was no effective investigation or remedy for his complaints. Supplementary materials pertaining to this case are located at A44/43/6/53. The report of the Commission deeming the application admissible is also available for viewing at https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-46142.
Dr Hasan Kaya worked as a physician in Şırnak, Turkey, from November 1990 to May 1992, where he treated demonstrators injured during the Newroz celebrations. After experiencing threats in Şırnak, he was transferred to Elazığ, where he worked in a health centre. His close friend, Metin Can, a lawyer and the President of the Elazığ Branch of Human Rights Association (İHD), faced threats for representing individuals suspected of PKK membership and for advocating better conditions in Elazığ Prison. The police raided the Elazığ İHD office during this period. In December 1992, a detainee named Bira Zordağ was interrogated in Elazığ about PKK members and reported that Hasan Kaya had been mentioned as assisting wounded PKK members. After his release, Zordağ informed the HRA about the intimidation tactics used against both Kaya and Can. By Christmas of 1992, Hasan expressed fear for his life, believing he was under police surveillance, a sentiment echoed by Can, who discovered his apartment had been searched in his absence.
On 20 February 1993, two men visited the apartment complex where Can lived, asking for him; upon returning home, Can received a call from these men wanting to meet. The following day, on 21 February, Can met these men in a coffee house, along with Şerafettin Özcan. The men claimed to be assisting a wounded PKK member and later went to Can's apartment to make further arrangements. Hasan Kaya was called to join them. They discussed taking the wounded individual to Yazıkonak village and made plans to communicate when ready. However, Can and Kaya did not return that night. By noon the next day, Fatma Can, Metin's wife, received a call claiming her husband and Hasan had been killed. She and Özcan reported their disappearance to the Security Directorate, withholding specific details about their prior meeting with the two men. The Elazığ governor was notified of the disappearance on 22 February, prompting a search for both men and their vehicle. That evening, a suspicious car owned by Hasan's brother was reported, prompting police action. Neighbours were questioned regarding the events leading to the disappearances, and there were further unusual phone calls to Can's home claiming the men were alive. A bag containing old shoes was discovered near a political party's office, where one pair was identified as belonging to Metin Can, while the other was not related to Hasan Kaya. On 23-34 February, requests for assistance were made to authorities to locate Kaya. A heightened urgency followed Fatma Can's visit to the Interior Minister in Ankara. Finally, on 27 February, two bodies were found under the Dinar bridge near Tunceli, identified as those of Hasan Kaya and Metin Can. A limited amount of evidence was found at the scene, and family members were called to identify the bodies. The autopsy report noted that both men had been shot in the head and had their hands tied.
On 3 September 1993 Mehmet Gülmez, President of the Tunceli İHD, and Ali Demir, a lawyer, sent the Elazığ public prosecutor a copy of an article in the 26 August issue of the newspaper Aydınlık which stated that a special-operations officer had identified the killers, inter alia, of Hasan Kaya and Metin Can as being Ahmet Demir, known as “Sakallı” (“the Beard”), and Mehmet Yazıcıoğulları, who were contra-guerrillas paid by the State and responsible for most of the killings in the area. In a petition dated 14 February 1994 to the Elazığ public prosecutor, Ahmet Kaya referred to Aydınlık, the television programme and Soner Yalçın's book The Confessions of Major Cem Ersever as disclosing that Mahmut Yıldırım was the planner and perpetrator of the Can and Kaya murders. He stated that Yıldırım had been a State employee for thirty years and came from Elazığ. The January 1998 Susurluk report (A44/43/2/9/1) made reference to a certain Mahmut Yıldırım, also known as Ahmet Demir or “Yeşil”, detailing his involvement in unlawful acts in the south-east and his links with the MİT (the Turkish intelligence service). The European Court of Human Rights found that no serious effort was made to locate Yıldırım during the domestic investigation.
On 28 March 2000, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that there had been violations of Articles 2, 3, and 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights (6 votes to 1). The Turkish Government was ordered to pay Mahmut Kaya £2,500 sterling in non-pecuniary damages and Hasan Kaya’s heirs £15,000 sterling in non-pecuniary damages, and to pay Mahmut Kaya £22,000 sterling in legal costs and expenses (less 15,095 French francs granted in legal aid). The full judgment is available for viewing at https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/?i=001-58523.

The files in this sub-sub-series are equivalent to binders 1 through 4 in the legal team’s filing system.