GÜLEÇ JUDGMENT OF 27 JULY 1998 22 Mr Kurt confirmed that he had worked in Şırnak from 1991 to 1993. He also confirmed that Major Karatan had worked in Şırnak for part of that period and stated that he had taken over the investigation in the case long after the events in question. (k) Nurettin Güven (Deputy Governor of Şırnak at the material time) 40. Mr Güven had been standing in for the Governor as Chairman of Şırnak Provincial Administrative Council when it discontinued the proceedings against the commanding officer of the gendarmerie forces ordered to suppress the demonstration of 4 March 1991. He himself had not been present at the scene of the incidents. He described the rules governing prosecution of civil servants, which were as follows. The Governor appointed an investigator, who gathered all the evidence and submitted his conclusions to the Administrative Council. The case file was examined at a meeting of the Administrative Council at which each member expressed his or her views. The investigator did not attend that meeting. A decision to commit for trial or discontinue proceedings could be taken either unanimously or by a majority. The Administrative Council’s decision was transmitted to the Supreme Administrative Court which, after examining the case file, upheld or quashed it. These special rules governing the prosecution of civil servants applied in regions where a state of emergency was in force. A state of emergency had to be declared according to the democratic process by the National Assembly, by a majority vote. In the present case, the Administrative Council had unanimously discontinued the proceedings, on the ground that the persons responsible had not been identified. No one had testified to seeing how Ahmet Güleç had died. In Turkey, gendarmes did not fire on citizens except when driven by necessity to do so. (l) Cengizhan Uysal (Şırnak Director of Public Health at the material time) 41. Mr Uysal did not remember the particular circumstances of the case. At the time there had been disturbances in İdil almost every day. The Administrative Council based its decisions on the documents which the investigator had placed on the case file, and was not strictly speaking empowered to conduct an investigation itself. That power belonged to the Governor. In general, the Administrative Council met once a month, although some months there was no meeting. If so, the Governor circulated a draft decision among the members of the Council for signature.