SECOND SECTION

FINAL DECISION

Application no. 803/04 by Hüseyin DUMAN against Turkey

The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 3 June 2008 as a Chamber composed of:

Françoise Tulkens, President, Antonella Mularoni, Ireneu Cabral Barreto,

Vladimiro Zagrebelsky Dragoljub Popović , Nona Tsotsoria , Işıl Karakaş , judges, and Françoise Elens-Passos , Deputy S ection Registrar ,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 15 October 2003,

Having regard to the decision to apply Article 29 § 3 of the Convention and examine the admissibility and merits of the case together ,

Having regard to the partial decision of 11 December 2007 ,

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

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

THE FACTS

The applicant, Mr Hüseyin Duman, is a Turkish national who was born in 1974 and is currently in prison in Diyarbakır . He wa s represented before the Court by Mr M ahmut Vefa, a lawyer practising in Diyarbakır . The Turkish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent.

The circumstances of the case

The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant , may be summarised as follows.

On 16 December 1994 the applicant was arrested in the city of Van and placed in police custody. He was subsequently remanded in custody in a prison pending the introduction of criminal proceedings against him.

On 24 January 1995 the prosecutor at the Diyarbakır State Security Court filed an indictment with that court, charging the applicant with the offences of membership of an illegal organisation, aiding and abetting that organisation and carrying out armed activities on its behalf.

On 4 December 2001 the trial court found the applicant guilty as charged and sentenced him to death. This sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. The applicant appealed.

On 20 November 2002 the Court of Cassation quashed the trial court ’ s judgment.

A retrial commenced. Following the dissolution of the State Security Courts, the case file was transferred to the Diyarbakır Assize Court which found the applicant guilty on 22 February 2007 and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The applicant appealed.

The proceedings before the Court of Cassation are still continuing.

COMPLAINTS

The applicant complained that the criminal proceedings against him had not been concluded within a reasonable time, as required by Article 6 § 1 of the Convention

Invoking Article 13 of the Convention he also complained that he had not had an effective remedy in respect of the above complaint.

THE LAW

T he Court received the following declaration from the Government:

“ I declare that the Government of Turkey offer to pay ex gratia 9,000 (nine thousand) euros (i.e. 8,000 euros in respect of pecuniary and non pecuniary damage and 1,000 euros in respect of costs and expenses) to Mr Hüseyin Duman with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights.

This sum, which is to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, will be converted into new Turkish liras at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and 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 undertake 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. ”

T he Court received the following declaration signed by the applicant:

“ I, Mr Mahmut Vefa, lawyer, note that the Government of Turkey are prepared to pay, ex gratia 9,000 (nine thousand) euros (i.e. 8,000 euros in respect of pecuniary and non pecuniary damage and 1,000 euros in respect of costs and expenses) to Mr Hüseyin Duman with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights.

This sum, which is to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, will be converted into new Turkish liras at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and 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. From the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amount at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.

I accept the proposal and waive any further claims against Turkey in respect of the facts giving rise to this application. I declare that this constitutes a final resolution of the case. ”

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 public policy 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 discontinue the application of Article 29 § 3 and 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.

             Françoise Elens-Passos Françoise Tulkens Deputy Registrar President