CEDH · PRESS;GENERAL;ENG — 2 février 2000

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .sA1D3DA2E { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify } .s94935B0F { width:389.85pt; display:inline-block } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .sBE975F9 { width:33.32pt; display:inline-block } .sC4CED65A { width:12.24pt; display:inline-block } .s4598CDF { width:70.9pt; display:inline-block } .sCB27B9E { width:16.66pt; display:inline-block } .sC5412BEF { width:51.05pt; display:inline-block } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s85016119 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; font-size:11pt } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS   82   2.2.2000   Press release issued by the Registrar   HEARING IN THE CASE OF SALMAN v. TURKEY   Wednesday, 2 February 2000, at 9.00 a.m.   The applicant   The case concerns an application brought by Behiye Salman, a Turkish citizen, who was born in 1942 and lives in Adana, Turkey.   Summary of the facts   On 28 April 1992, shortly after midnight, the applicant’s husband Agit Salman was taken in to detention by police on suspicion of aiding and abetting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). He was held at Adana Security Directorate until about 1.00 a.m. on 29 April 1992, when he was taken to Adana State Hospital. He was declared dead on arrival.   The autopsy, which was carried out by a forensic doctor, disclosed marks and bruises, including a bruise on the chest and a broken sternum. He did not determine the cause of death but referred the case to the İstanbul Forensic Institute which concluded, in its report, that Agit Salman had died of cardiac arrest brought about by pressure of the incident together with a pre-existing heart disease.   On 13 November 1992, the applicant appealed against the public prosecutor’s decision not to prosecute police officers for causing the death of her husband by torture. The case was eventually referred to the Adana Aggravated Felony Court, which on 26 December 1994 acquitted ten police officers of homicide on the basis that there was inadequate evidence that they had used any force or torture on Agit Salman.   Complaints   The applicant complains principally that her husband died as a result of torture under interrogation in violation of Articles 2 (right to life) and 3 (prohibition of torture) of the European Convention on Human Rights and that she did not have any effective remedy, in violation of Article 13, due to the defects in the investigation and judicial procedures. She further invokes Article 34 of the Convention, alleging that she was victim of intimidation by the authorities concerning her application.   Procedure   The application was lodged with the European Commission of Human Rights on 20 May 1993. Having declared the application admissible, the Commission adopted a report on 1   March 1999 in which it expressed the unanimous opinion that there had been a violation of Articles 2, 3 and 13 of the Convention and a failure by Turkey to fulfil its obligations under former Article 25 of the Convention. The Commission referred the case to the Court on 7   June 1999.   Composition of the Court   The case will be heard by the Grand Chamber composed as follows:   Luzius Wildhaber (Swiss), President Elisabeth Palm (Swedish), Antonio Pastor Ridruejo (Spanish), Giovanni Bonello (Maltese), Jerzy Makarczyk (Polish), Pranas Kūris (Lithuanian), Jean-Paul Costa (French), Françoise Tulkens (Belgian), Viera Strážnická (Slovakian), Marc Fischbach (Luxemburger), Volodymyr Butkevych (Ukrainian), Josep Casadevall (Andorran), Hanne Sophie Greve (Norwegian), András Baka (Hungarian), Rait Maruste (Estonian), Snejana Botoucharova (Bulgarian), judges Feyyaz Gölcüklü ad hoc judge Mindia Ugrekhelidze (Georgian), Nina Vajić, (Croatian), Luigi Ferrari Bravo (Italian), substitute judges,   and also Paul Mahoney,   Deputy Registrar   Representatives of the parties   Government:   Münci Özmen , Co-Agent , Yaprak Kayaalp , Özer Zeyrek, Hakan Çetinkaya and Meltem Gülşen, Advisers.   Applicant:   Françoise Hampson , Counsel , Aisling Reidy , Osman Baydemir,   Metin Kilavuz , Reyhan Yalcindağ and Kerim Yildiz , Advisers.   After the hearing the Court will begin its deliberations, which are held in private. Judgment will be delivered at a later date.   Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Contacts:   Roderick Liddell (telephone: (0)3 88 41 24 92)   Emma Hellyer (telephone: (0)3 90 21 42 15) Fax: (0)3 88 41 27 91   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. On 1 November 1998 a full-time Court was established, replacing the original two-tier system of a part-time Commission and Court.