ECtHR Case-Law Ocalan v. Turkey (2005) (English)
On 12 May, the European Court of Human Rights has today delivered at a public hearing its Grand Chamber judgment in the case of ?calan v. Turkey (application no. 46221/99). In its judgment the Grand Chamber made the same findings of violation and non violation of the European Convention on Human Rights as the Chamber in its judgment of 12 March 2003 [1]. The Court held, unanimously, that there had been: a violation of Article 5 ? 4 (right to have lawfulness of detention decided speedily by a court) of the European Convention on Human Rights, given the lack of a remedy by which the applicant could have had the lawfulness of his detention in police custody decided; no violation of Article 5 ? 1 (no unlawful deprivation of liberty) of the Convention, concerning the applicant's arrest; a violation of Article 5 ? 3 (right to be brought promptly before a judge) given the failure to bring the applicant before a judge promptly after his arrest. Furthermore, the Court held that there had been a violation of Article 6 ? 1 (right to a fair trial) in that the applicant had not been tried by an independent and impartial tribunal; and that there had been a violation of Article 6 ? 1, taken together with Article 6 ? 3 (b) (right to adequate time and facilities for preparation of defence) and (c) (right to legal assistance), in that the applicant had not had a fair trial. Finally, the Court held that there had been a violation of Article 3 concerning the imposition of the death penalty following an unfair trial. [The Court's judgments are accessible on its Internet site: http://www.echr.coe.int]