Turkey sentenced for inadequate inspection into death of teen, elderly man

STRASBOURG

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The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered Turkey to pay 30,000 euros for the inadequacy of a criminal investigation carried out by domestic authorities into two missing persons, who were found dead years later, allegedly after being murdered by soldiers.

Kadri Budak from the southeastern province of Diyarbakır had applied to the ECHR over the May 30, 1994, disappearance of his father, Metin Budak, and son, Bahri Budak, aged 60 and 14 respectively at the time, a release by the ECHR stated on Dec. 9.

The applicant alleged that his relatives had been killed by military personnel in an area where a military operation was taking place. They had allegedly first been taken into custody, and then killed by the soldiers.

In June 1994, Budak wrote to the public prosecutor of Lice, and to the district governor of Lice, on the subject of his relatives’ disappearance. He also sent a petition to Parliament.

In June 1995 the governor of the region, which was subject to a state of emergency, informed Budak that at the relevant time no military operation had been carried out in the zone in question. In July 2001, after summarizing the alleged circumstances of his relatives’ disappearance and the various steps he had taken, Budak sent a petition to the governor of Diyarbakır, to the governor of the region subject to the state of emergency and to the interior minister.

In May 2005 bones were found at the scene of the incident. On May 28, 2005, the public prosecutor visited the site together with Budak and his lawyer, a doctor and several experts; material gathered at the site was subsequently sent to the Forensic Institute for analysis. The ensuing report indicated that the bones belonged to Budak’s relatives, that his son had died from a wound caused by a firearm and that spent cartridges from military rifles had been found at the site.

Referring in particular to Article 2, the right to life, Budak complained about the inadequacy of the criminal investigation carried out by domestic authorities.