The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 29 January 2019 as a Chamber composed of: Robert Spano, President, Paul Lemmens, Ledi Bianku, Işıl Karakaş, Nebojša Vučinić, Valeriu Griţco, Jon Fridrik Kjølbro, judges, and Stanley Naismith, Section Registrar, Having regard to the above application lodged on 29 December 2015, Having regard to the decision to grant priority to the above application under Rule 41 of the Rules of Court, Having regard to the partial decision of 6 December 2016, Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent Government and the observations in reply submitted by the applicant, Having regard to the comments submitted by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights (“the Commissioner for Human Rights”), Having regard to the parties’ oral submissions at the hearing on 13 November 2018, Having deliberated in private on 13...
SECOND SECTION DECISION Application no. 63129/15 Ömer ELÇİ against Turkey The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 29 January 2019 as a Chamber composed of: Robert Spano, President, Paul Lemmens, Ledi Bianku, Işıl Karakaş, Nebojša Vučinić, Valeriu Griţco, Jon Fridrik Kjølbro, judges, and Stanley Naismith, Section Registrar, Having regard to the above application lodged on 29 December 2015, Having regard to the decision to grant priority to the above application under Rule 41 of the Rules of Court, Having regard to the partial decision of 6 December 2016, Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent Government and the observations in reply submitted by the applicant, Having regard to the comments submitted by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights (“the Commissioner for Human Rights”), Having regard to the parties’ oral submissions at the hearing on 13 November 2018, Having deliberated in private on 13 November 2018 and 29 January 2019, decides as follows: PROCEDURE AND FACTS 1. The applicant, Mr Ömer Elçi, is a Turkish national who was born in 1951 and lives in Şırnak. He was represented before the Court by
2 ELÇİ v. TURKEY DECISION Mr E. Şenses and Mr M.N. Girasun, lawyers practising in Batman and Diyarbakır respectively. 2. The Turkish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent. 3. A hearing took place in public in the Human Rights Building, Strasbourg, on 13 November 2018 (Rule 59 § 3). There appeared before the Court: (a) for the Government Mr Erdoğan İŞCAN, Agent, Mr Hacı Ali AÇIKGÜL, Mr Stefan TALMON, Counsel, Mr Nuri UZUN, Mr Öner AYDIN, Mr Gökhan DURSUN, Mr Erkan ÇAPAR, Mr Ahmet ADANUR, Mr Can ÖZTAŞ, Advisers. (b) for the applicant Mr Erkan ŞENSES, Mr M. Neşet GİRASUN, Counsel, Ms Senem GÜROL, Adviser. The Court heard addresses by Mr Talmon, Mr Girasun and Mr Şenses. A. Background to the events giving rise to the application 4. Following a period of relative calm – owing to the peace process initiated in late 2012 to find a lasting, peaceful solution to the “Kurdish question” – the security situation in south-east Turkey deteriorated in the summer of 2015 on account of the intensification of hostilities by illegal armed groups affiliated with the PKK (the Workers’ Party of Kurdistan). In addition to carrying out armed attacks, those armed groups resorted to other means to disturb social life and public order in the region, such as digging trenches, some of which were planted with explosives, and blocking the roads with barricades in certain neighbourhoods. In response, starting from August 2015, the Turkish authorities declared curfews in urban centres, including in the town of Cizre, where the events giving rise to the present application took place. The stated aim of the curfews was to clear the trenches dug up and the explosives planted by members of the armed
ELÇİ v. TURKEY DECISION 3 organisations, as well as to protect the civil...