The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 25 June 2013 as a Chamber composed of: Guido Raimondi, President, Danutė Jočienė, Peer Lorenzen, András Sajó, Işıl Karakaş, Nebojša Vučinić, Helen Keller, judges, and Stanley Naismith, Section Registrar, Having regard to the above applications lodged on 4 April 2008, 16 June 2008, 3 November 2008 and 23 March 2009 respectively, Having deliberated, decides as follows: THE FACTS 1. The applicants are all Iraqi nationals (see Appendix). They were represented before the Court by Ms C. Vine, Mr K. Yıldız, Mr M. Muller QC, Mr T. Otty QC, Mr M. Ivers, Mr E. Grieves, Mr X. Zror Asad, and Mr A. Ibrahim, lawyers practising in London. 2 BABAKIR AND OTHERS v. TURKEY AND OTHER APPLICATIONS DECISION The circumstances of the cases 2. The facts of the cases, as submitted by the applicants, may be summarised as follows. 1....
SECOND SECTION DECISION Application no. 16838/08 Khzir Aslan BABAKIR and others against Turkey and 7 other applications (see list appended) The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 25 June 2013 as a Chamber composed of: Guido Raimondi, President, Danutė Jočienė, Peer Lorenzen, András Sajó, Işıl Karakaş, Nebojša Vučinić, Helen Keller, judges, and Stanley Naismith, Section Registrar, Having regard to the above applications lodged on 4 April 2008, 16 June 2008, 3 November 2008 and 23 March 2009 respectively, Having deliberated, decides as follows: THE FACTS 1. The applicants are all Iraqi nationals (see Appendix). They were represented before the Court by Ms C. Vine, Mr K. Yıldız, Mr M. Muller QC, Mr T. Otty QC, Mr M. Ivers, Mr E. Grieves, Mr X. Zror Asad, and Mr A. Ibrahim, lawyers practising in London.
2 BABAKIR AND OTHERS v. TURKEY AND OTHER APPLICATIONS DECISION The circumstances of the cases 2. The facts of the cases, as submitted by the applicants, may be summarised as follows. 1. Background to the events in question 3. During the 1990s the Turkish Government conducted cross-border military operations against militants of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party, an illegal organisation) in northern Iraq. However, with the invasion of Iraq by the United States forces in 2003, Turkey’s ability to pursue the group diminished as cross-border bombardments could have created a diplomatic incident. In Turkey’s view, Massoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdish region in northern Iraq, and the United States forces did not do enough to combat the PKK and secure the Iraqi-Turkish border, causing tension between the Iraqi and Turkish Governments. This tension escalated during the second half of 2003 due to increasing attacks by the PKK inside eastern Turkey. 4. On 17 October 2007 the Turkish Grand National Assembly adopted a motion authorising the Government “to send Turkish Armed Forces to northern Iraq and contiguous regions where PKK terrorists are based and to implement a cross-border operation with the aim of eliminating the threat of terrorism and terrorist attacks targeting our country” as part of its ongoing “struggle against PKK terrorism”. 2. The aerial bombing of the applicants’ villages 5. On 13 October 2007, at approximately 10.50 p.m., Turkish military forces launched cross-border aerial attacks in northern Iraq. These attacks included bombing of the Kurdish village of Gonde Aerdna (which is the subject of application no. 16838/08) in the district of Sersenk, which is situated in Amediye Province, within the Governate of Dohuk. The Chaldean Christian village of Einshgx (the subject of application no. 17397/08), in the same district, was also bombed. A fact-finding report prepared by the Iraqi Parliament stated that eighty-five shells were fired by the Turkish military on the border that evening. 6. In the early hours of 16 December 2007 Turkish military forces launched further cross-bor...