SECOND SECTION

DECISION

Application no . 51479/08 Fatih TAÅž against Turkey

The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section) , sitting on 9 April 2013 as a Chamber composed of:

Guido Raimondi , President, Danutė Jočienė , Peer Lorenzen , Dragoljub Popović , Işıl Karakaş , Nebojša Vučinić , Paulo Pinto de Albuquerque , judges, and Stanley Naismith , Section Registrar ,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 12 September 2008 ,

Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case ,

Having deliberated , decides as follows:

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

The applicant , Mr Fatih TaÅŸ , is a Turkish national , who was born in 1979 and lives in Ä°stanbul. He was represented before the Court by Mr Ä° . AkmeÅŸe lawyer practising in Ä°stanbul.

The Turkish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent.

In October 2003 , the publishing house of which the applicant is the owner published a book entitled “The operation of Kırbaşı- The night of the birth of the PKK” (KIRBAŞI BASKINI- PKK ’ nın Do ğ um Gecesi) . In an indictment dated 18 November 2003 , the public prosecutor charged the applicant under section 7 § 2 of the Law No. 3713 and Article 312 of the former Criminal Code in respect of the publication of the book.

On 13 December 2007 , the Istanbul Assize Court convicted the applicant under Article 7 § 2 of the Law No. 3713 on the fight against terrorism and sentenced to five months ’ imprisonment and a fine of 285 Turkish liras. On 13 July 2009 the Court of Cassation upheld the first-instance court ’ s judgment.

On 10 January 2012 the Court decided to communicate the applicant ’ s complaints concerning the freedom of expression and the length of the criminal proceedings against him to the Government under Articles 10 and 6 § 1 of the Convention. The criminal proceedings against the applicant lasted about 7 years in total.

On 19 June and 28 December 2012 the Court received friendly settlement declarations signed by the parties under which the applicant agreed to waive any further claims against Turkey in respect of the facts giving rise to this application against an undertaking by the Government to pay him EUR 3 , 000 (three thousand euros) to cover any pecuniary and non ‑ pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses , which would be converted into Turkish liras at the rate applicable on the date of payment , and will be free of any taxes that may be applicable. It will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court pursuant to Article 37 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the event of failure to pay this sum within the said three-month period , the Government undertook to pay simple interest on it , from expiry of that period until settlement , at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points. The payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.

THE LAW

The Court takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the application (Article 37 § 1 in fine of the Convention).

In view of the above , it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list.

For these reasons , the Court unanimously

Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention .

Stanley Naismith Guido Raimondi Registrar President