GÜLEÇ JUDGMENT OF 27 JULY 1998 30 II. ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF ARTICLE 2 OF THE CONVENTION 63. The applicant asserted that his son had been killed by a bullet fired by the security forces during the demonstration of 4 March 1991, while he was trying to make his way home. He further complained that the gendarmes had used excessive force and that there had been no proper investigation into the circumstances of his child’s death. He argued on that account that there had been a twofold violation of Article 2 of the Convention, which provides: “1. Everyone's right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law. 2. Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in contravention of this Article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary: (a) in defence of any person from unlawful violence; (b) in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained; (c) in action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot or insurrection.” 64. The Government contested the version of the events given by the applicant. Ahmet Güleç had been hit by a bullet fired by terrorists positioned among the demonstrators. The relevant authorities had properly conducted their investigations into his death. 65. The Commission submitted that Article 2 had been breached on account of the use of disproportionate force by the gendarmes and the lack of a real investigation. A. The applicant’s son’s death 1. Arguments of the participants in the proceedings (a) The applicant 66. The applicant stated in the first place that the unauthorised demonstration of 4 March 1991, in which approximately 3,000 – unarmed – residents of İdil and nearby villages had taken part, had been called to protest against ill-treatment inflicted on the people of a neighbouring village, some of whom had been taken into police custody, during an operation by the security forces.