THIRD SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 9043/02 by Zafer ÅžAHÄ°N against Turkey

The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting on 24 May 2007 as a Chamber composed of:

Mr B.M. Zupančič , President , Mr R. Türmen , Mrs E. Fura-Sandström , Mrs A. Gyulumyan , Mr E. Myjer , Mr David Thór Björgvinsson , Mrs I. Ziemele, judges , and Mr S Quesada , Section Registrar ,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 16 January 2002,

Having regard to the partial decision of 1 June 2006,

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 formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case ,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

THE FACTS

The applicant, Mr Zafer Şahin, is a Turkish national who was born in 1976 and lives in I stanbul . He was repres ented before the Court by Mr M. Filorinal ı and Mrs Y. Başara, lawyer s practising in İstanbul. The Turkish Government (“the Government”) did not designate an Agent for the purposes of the proceedings before the Court.

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

On 29 October 1995 the applicant was taken into custody by police officers from the anti-terror branch of the Istanbul Security Directorate on suspicion of membership in the DHKP-C (Revolutionary People ’ s Liberation Party-Front).

On 2 November 1995 he was brought before a judge at the Istanbul State Security Court who ordered his detention on remand.

On 7 November 1995 the public prosecutor at the Istanbul State Security Court filed a bill of indictment, charging the applicant with attempting to undermine the constitutional order, under Article 146 § 1 of the Criminal Code.

On 13 November 1995 the Istanbul State Security Court held its first hearing .

On 25 March 2002 the Istanbul State Security Court convicted the applicant under Articles 168 § 2 and 264 of the Criminal Code.

On 15 October 2002 the Court of Cassation quashed the judgment of the first-instance court and remitted the case to the Istanbul Assize Court , since by Law no. 5190 of 16 June 2004 , State Security Courts had been abolished.

On 28 October 2004 the applicant was released pending trial.

The proceedings are still pending before the Istanbul Assize Court .

COMPLAINTS

The applicant complains under Article 5 § 3 of the Convention that the length of his detention on remand was excessive.

The applicant alleges under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention that the criminal proceedings brought against him were not concluded within a reasonable time.

THE LAW

On 5 March 2007 the Court received the following declaration from the applicant:

“ I note that the Government of Turkey are prepared to pay ex gratia to the applicant an all-inclusive amount of EUR 10 ,000 ( ten thousand euros) with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned application pending before the European Court of Human Rights.

This sum, which is to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as legal costs and expenses connected with the case, shall be paid in euros, to be converted into new Turkish liras at the rate applicable at the date of payment, to a bank account named by me. It shall be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision delivered 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, until settlement, simple interest on the 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 of this application. I declare that this constitutes a final settlement of the case.

This declaration is made in the context of a friendly settlement which the Government and I have reached. ”

On 16 April 2007 the Court received the following declaration signed by the Government:

“ I declare that the Government of Turkey offer to pay ex gratia to the applicant an all-inclusive amount of EUR 10 ,000 ( ten thousand euros) with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned application pending before the European Court of Human Rights.

This sum, which also covers legal expenses connected with the case, shall be free of any tax that may be applicable and be paid in euros , to be converted into new Turkish liras at the rate applicable at the date of payment, to a bank account named by the applicant and/or his duly authorised representative. It shall be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision delivered by the Court pursuant to Article 37 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This payment will constitute the final settlement of the case. In the event of failure to pay this sum within the said three month period, the Government undertake to pay, until settlement, simple interest on the amount at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points . ”

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). Accordingly, Article 29 § 3 of the Convention should no longer apply to the case and it should be struck out of the list.

For these reasons, the Court unanimously

Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.

Santiago Quesada Boštjan M. Zupančič Registrar President