Turkey fined 52,000 euros for man’s injuries in 2007 operation in Tunceli

STRASBOURG – Hürriyet Daily News

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) fined Turkey 52,285 euros for violating the right to life regarding Hıdır Taydaş, who was left permanently disabled after an operation in his house in Tunceli by the gendarmerie forces in 2007.

The ECHR fined Turkey 52,000 euros for non-pecuniary damage and 285 euros for pecuniary damage. In the case, Taydaş reported excessive force used by the Turkish security forces.

Taydaş claimed he had been shot by a gendarmerie special operations team on Sept. 7, 2007 when leaving a neighbor’s house in the eastern province Tunceli, and as a result, he was left permanently disabled.

Turkey said the gendarmerie had surrounded the house following a report that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants would be there and the gendarmerie, believing Taydaş to have a weapon, had fired warning shots and then opened fire when he attempted to escape.

Taydaş, however, claimed that there were no warning shots, that he had not been carrying a weapon but a light and that he had not attempted to escape.

The court decided that there was a violation of Article 2 of the Convention (right to life) in both its substantive and procedural aspects.