GÜLEÇ JUDGMENT OF 27 JULY 1998 23 When the Administrative Council met, it was chaired by the Governor or his representative. The Council’s Secretary read the case file aloud. The members of the Council could examine the documents on the file. They were then invited to express their views and to sign a draft decision. In theory, the members could oppose the Governor’s proposal. Those who were not convinced of the correctness of what was proposed could ask for further investigations to be carried out. However, in the final analysis, the procedure was based on the trust placed in the Governor. Either the members of the Council were convinced and signed the decision, or they were replaced by others who were willing to sign it. In practice, it was not possible for the decision, as proposed by the Governor, not to be signed. Mr Uysal stated that he thought the decision given in the present case had not been a discontinuation order but a decision not to commence criminal proceedings against civil servants and to transfer the case file to the public prosecutor for him to carry out a further investigation with a view to identifying those responsible. He had not been informed of subsequent developments in the case. (m) Şükrü Süsin (shopkeeper and local councillor (muhtar) for one of the districts of İdil at the material time) 42. Mr Süsin stated that the local population had spontaneously organised a demonstration on 4 March 1991 in order to protest against acts of brutality committed by the gendarmes two days earlier in the village of Kömür. The District Commissioner had called him to the town hall. On his way there, he had seen the demonstrators in the street, and also the security forces and their armoured vehicles. When he got to the town hall, the demonstrators were already assembled. At the town hall, the witness had seen and heard gendarmerie major, Mustafa Karatan, give the order to open fire by walkie-talkie. As the town hall was the tallest building in İdil he had seen a Panzer-type armoured vehicle open fire while travelling along Atatürk Street in front of the town hall. All the demonstrators were trying to run away. One of his friends had been killed before his eyes. He had seen shots being fired from the armoured vehicle. The vehicle was following the demonstrators and the soldiers manning it were firing at the ground, in the direction of the demonstrators. More than fifty people had been wounded in the abdomen and chest by ricocheting bullets. Some of the wounded had refused to be taken to hospital because they were afraid of the authorities’ reaction.