issued by the Registrar of the Court

ECHR 171 (2015)

26.05.2015

Judgments of 26 May 2015

The European Court of Human Rights has today notified in writing six judgments¹:

three Chamber judgments are summarised below; for one other, in the case of Lhermitte v. Belgium

(application no. 34238/09), a separate press release has been issued;

two Committee judgments, concerning issues which have already been submitted to the Court, can

be consulted on Hudoc and do not appear in this press release.

The judgments below are available only in French.

Dogan Altun v. Turkey (application no. 7152/08)

The applicant, Doğan Altun, is a Turkish national. He was born in 1963 and lives in Ankara. Mr Altun

was a member of the Tüm Bel Sen trade union at the relevant time.

The case concerned the imposition of a disciplinary sanction on Mr Altun, a trade unionist, for

holding a referendum without applying for prior authorisation from the Directorate General for

which he works.

In November 2006 Mr Altun, together with another trade union member, installed ballot boxes

outside the door of the canteen in the Directorate General responsible for municipal electricity, gas

and public transport, with a view to organising a referendum on the 2007 budget. The Director of

the Municipal Department of Human Resources and Training issued Mr Altun with a warning for

having held a referendum without the Directorate General’s authorisation. Mr Altun challenged this

warning before the Municipal Disciplinary Board. The Disciplinary Board upheld the disciplinary

sanction on the ground that it was mandatory to obtain the employer’s authorisation.

Relying on Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the European Convention on Human

Rights, Mr Altun complained of a breach of his right to freedom of association on account of the

warning with which he had been issued. Relying on Article 13 (right to an effective remedy), he

complained of the lack of a domestic remedy to challenge the warning issued to him.

Violation of Article 11

Violation of Article 13

Just satisfaction: 1,500 euros (EUR) (non-pecuniary damage)

İpseftel v. Turkey (no. 18638/05)

The applicant, Eftaliya İpseftel, is a Turkish national. She was born in 1976 and lives in Athens

(Greece).

The case concerned Ms İpseftel’s inability to recover a property which she had inherited from her

father and which had been entered in the land register as belonging to the Treasury.

Under Articles 43 and 44 of the Convention, Chamber judgments are not final. During the three-month period following a Chamber

judgment’s delivery, any party may request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber of the Court. If such a request is made, a

panel of five judges considers whether the case deserves further examination. In that event, the Grand Chamber will hear the case and

deliver a final judgment. If the referral request is refused, the Chamber judgment will become final on that day. Under Article 28 of the

Convention, judgments delivered by a Committee are final.

Once a judgment becomes final, it is transmitted to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for supervision of its execution.

Further information about the execution process can be found here: www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/execution

In May 1976 Ms İpseftel’s father purchased a plot of land located in Gökçeada in Turkey. No

corresponding title deed was ever entered in the land register. Ms İpseftel and her father left the

country to settle in Athens. Ms İpseftel’s father died. In September 1995 the 110 m² plot of land in

question, on which a stone house had been built, was entered in the land register as belonging to

the Treasury. Ms İpseftel has never been able to take possession of this property, which had

belonged to her father.

Relying in particular on Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property) to the Convention,

Ms İpseftel complained of a violation of her right to respect for her property.

Violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1

Just satisfaction: The Court reserved the question of the application of Article 41 (just satisfaction)

of the Convention for examination at a later date.

Songül İnce and Others v. Turkey (nos. 25595/08 and 34252/10)

The 18 applicants are Turkish nationals. They were born between 1951 and 1977, and were being

held at Bayrampasa prison at the relevant time.

The case concerned the “death fast”, a hunger strike launched by a large number of prisoners in

Turkey in October 2000 in protest at a prison project involving reducing cell sizes for prisoners.

On 18 December 2000 the Director of Bayrampasa prison requested intervention by the security

forces, explaining that 45 prisoners on hunger strike were refusing to submit to medical

examinations and treatment being offered by the prison medical staff. On 19 December 2000 the

security forces intervened simultaneously in some 20 different prisons. During that operation there

were violent clashes between the security forces and the prisoners. 12 prisoners were killed and

some 50 injured, some of them by firearm, in Bayrampasa prison where the applicants were

incarcerated. After their evacuation, the injured applicants were taken to hospital and the others

were transferred to different prisons.

Relying in particular on Articles 2 (right to life) and 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading

treatment), the applicants complained of the use of force, which they considered to have been

excessive and disproportionate, by the authorities during the operation in Bayrampasa prison. They

also complained that they had been subjected to the unjustified use of teargas.

Application no. 25595/08 declared inadmissible by the Court

Violation of Article 2 – in respect of Songül İnce

Violation of Article 3 – in respect of Özgül Dede, Gülperi Özen, Aydan Odabaş and Fatma Güzel

Just satisfaction: EUR 15,000 to Songül İnce, EUR 10,000 each to Özgül Dede and Gülperi Özen, and

EUR 8,000 each to Aydan Odabaş and Fatma Güzel (non-pecuniary damage), and EUR 3,000 jointly to

Songül İnce, Özgül Dede, Gülperi Özen, Aydan Odabaş et Fatma Güzel (costs and expenses)

This press release is a document produced by the Registry. It does not bind the Court. Decisions,

judgments and further information about the Court can be found on www.echr.coe.int. To receive

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