Published on 1 July 2024
SECOND SECTION
Application no. 37479/18
Veysel KAPLAN against Türkiye
and 22 other applications
(see list appended)
communicated on 13 June 2024
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
All the applications listed below (see appendix) concern the refusal of prison authorities to send or deliver the applicants’ correspondence, and in some cases, their censorship of it. The prison authorities based their decisions on Section 68 § 3 of Law no. 5275 on the enforcement of sentences and preventive measures as well as Sections 91 § 3 and 123 § 1 of the Regulation on the management of prisons and the execution of sentences and preventive measures. These provisions allow the prison authorities to monitor, censor, and withhold incoming and outgoing correspondence of prisoners if it is deemed objectionable or a threat to prison order and security, targets officials, enables intra-organisational communication, contains false or misleading information, or includes threats or insults. The authorities’ decisions are subject to review by judicial bodies.
Relying on Article 8 of the Convention, the applicants complain of an infringement of their right to respect for their correspondence due to the decisions made by the prison authorities.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
Has there been an interference with the applicants’ right to respect for their correspondence, within the meaning of Article 8 § 1 of the Convention, by the interception or censorship of the letters to be sent by them, or to be delivered to them, by the prison authorities?
If so, was that interference in accordance with the law and necessary in terms of Article 8 § 2?
In particular, did the national authorities carry out a sufficient examination and adequate balancing of the applicants’ right to respect for their correspondence and other interests at stake in the light of the criteria set out and applied by the Court in similar cases (Halit Kara v. Türkiye, no. 60846/19, §§ 51-59, 12 December 2023)?
APPENDIX
No.
Application no.
Case name
Lodged on
Applicant
Year of Birth
Place of Residence
Nationality
Represented by
1.
37479/18
Kaplan v. Türkiye
20/03/2018
Veysel KAPLAN
1974
Kocaeli
Turkish
2.
35099/19
Abi v. Türkiye
30/04/2019
Ebedin ABİ
1970
Bünyan
Turkish
Sinem COŞKUN
3.
11228/20
Tezel v. Türkiye
20/05/2020
Hakan TEZEL
1969
Manisa
Turkish
4.
24415/20
Yiğit v. Türkiye
01/06/2020
Kemal YİĞİT
1982
Rize
Turkish
Esin ASLAN
5.
29798/20
Kaya v. Türkiye
02/07/2020
Musa KAYA
1973
Balıkesir
Turkish
6.
33411/20
Oktay v. Türkiye
17/07/2020
Adem OKTAY
1991
Karabük
Turkish
7.
1985/21
Bayna v. Türkiye
21/12/2020
Ahmet BAYNA
1993
Karabük
Turkish
Sevil ARACI
8.
6988/21
Çağırıcı v. Türkiye
25/12/2020
Mikail ÇAĞIRICI
1984
Kocaeli
Turkish
9.
7142/21
Yıldız v. Türkiye
31/12/2020
Eren YILDIZ
1973
Antalya
Turkish
Gülizar TUNCER
10.
15760/21
İncedere v. Türkiye
10/03/2021
Suat İNCEDERE
1971
Edirne
Turkish
11.
18440/21
Polat v. Türkiye
25/03/2021
Gökhan POLAT
1990
Kayseri
Turkish
12.
18442/21
Dayan v. Türkiye
19/03/2021
Sabah DAYAN
1995
Kırıkkale
Turkish
13.
20130/21
Barsak v. Türkiye
06/04/2021
Hüseyin BARSAK
1982
Bolu
Turkish
14.
21889/21
Arpacı v. Türkiye
01/04/2021
İsmail ARPACI
1982
Elazığ
Turkish
15.
29271/21
Yılmaz v. Türkiye
20/05/2021
Uğur YILMAZ
1991
Bitlis
Turkish
16.
32450/21
Yaprak v. Türkiye
09/06/2021
Ömer Faruk YAPRAK
1994
Şanlıurfa
Turkish
17.
36815/21
Laçin v. Türkiye
05/07/2021
Tahir LAÇİN
1961
Tekirdağ
Turkish
Faruk Nafiz ERTEKİN
18.
40786/21
Özalp v. Türkiye
05/08/2021
Roger Tirej ÖZALP
1963
Tekirdağ
Turkish
Mahmut EROL
19.
41424/21
Yılmaz v. Türkiye
30/07/2021
Özgür YILMAZ
1974
Tekirdağ
Turkish
20.
51542/21
Laçin v. Türkiye
22/09/2021
Tahir LAÇİN
1961
Tekirdağ
Turkish
Faruk Nafiz ERTEKİN
21.
60974/21
Yılmaz v. Türkiye
19/11/2021
Özgür YILMAZ
1974
Tekirdağ
Turkish
22.
36991/22
Karagöz v. Türkiye
07/07/2022
Veli KARAGÖZ
1972
Elazığ
Turkish
Burak ÇOLAK
23.
40444/22
Kahveci v. Türkiye
05/08/2022
Aydın KAHVECİ
1981
Kocaeli
Turkish
Cahit ÇIFTÇI