İLHAN v. TURKEY JUDGMENT
9
33. After the accident, Abdüllatif İlhan was neither in danger of losing
his life nor in a coma. He did not lose consciousness as alleged. He was able
to make statements to the gendarmes and so did not appear to Şeref Çakmak
to be seriously hurt. Dr Rahmanlı, who examined him at Mardin State
Hospital, described him as responsive. In any event, Abdüllatif İlhan was
not neglected but received medical treatment for his injuries in hospital.
Such treatment was not available in the rural area where the accident
occurred.
34. Abdüllatif İlhan had admitted before the Mardin Justice of the Peace
Court that he had resisted the security forces and had had no difficulty in
giving evidence.
II. RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW AND PRACTICE
35. The principles and procedures relating to liability for acts contrary to
the law may be summarised as follows.
A. Criminal prosecutions
36. Under the Turkish Criminal Code (TCC) all forms of homicide
(Articles 448 to 455) and attempted homicide (Articles 61 and 62) constitute
criminal offences. It is also an offence for a State employee to subject
anyone to torture or ill-treatment (Article 243 in respect of torture and
Article 245 in respect of ill-treatment). The authorities' obligations in
respect of conducting a preliminary investigation into acts or omissions
capable of constituting such offences that have been brought to their
attention are governed by Articles 151 to 153 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure. Offences may be reported to the authorities or the security forces
as well as to public prosecutors' offices. The complaint may be made in
writing or orally. If it is made orally, the authority must make a record of it
(Article 151).
By Article 235 of the Criminal Code, any public official who fails to
report to the police or a public prosecutor's office an offence of which he
has become aware in the exercise of his duty is liable to imprisonment.
A public prosecutor who is informed by any means whatsoever of a
situation that gives rise to the suspicion that an offence has been committed
is obliged to investigate the facts in order to decide whether or not there
should be a prosecution (Article 153 of the Code of Criminal Procedure).
37. In the case of alleged terrorist offences, the public prosecutor is
deprived of jurisdiction in favour of a separate system of national security
prosecutors and courts established throughout Turkey.
38. If the suspected offender is a civil servant and if the offence was
committed during the performance of his duties, the preliminary
investigation of the case is governed by the Law of 1914 on the prosecution