SECOND SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 26424/11
Nazlı ÖZDEMİR and Kaya ÖZDEMİR
against Turkey
The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 7 February 2017 as a Committee composed of:
Nebojša Vučinić, President,
Valeriu Griţco,
Stéphanie Mourou-Vikström, judges,
and Hasan Bakırcı, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 10 January 2011,
Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
1. The applicants, Ms Nazlı Özdemir and Mr Kaya Özdemir, are Turkish nationals, who were born in 1965 and 1961 respectively and live in Tunceli. They were represented before the Court by Mrs Z. Özdoğan, a lawyer practising in İzmir.
2. The second applicant died on 30 September 2011. On 26 September 2016, his children, Ms Nur Taçyıldız (Özdemir), Ms. Asiye Özdemir and Ms Gizem Özdemir, born respectively in 1986, 1988, 1997, informed the Court of their wish to pursue the application before the Court in his stead, and retained the same lawyer to represent them.
3. The Turkish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent.
4. The applicants complained under Article 2 and 13 of the Convention about the lack of measures which could prevent the suicide of their son in prison.
5. On 12 September 2014 the Court received the following declaration from the Government:
“I declare that the Government of Turkey offers to pay ex gratia to the applicants jointly, with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights, 25,000 (twenty five thousands) euros to cover any pecuniary and all non-pecuniary damage and 2,000 (two thousands) euros to cover any and all costs and expenses, plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
In the present case, the Government deeply regrets the death of the applicants’ son after his transfer at the detention centre. In line with the Court’s established case-law, the Government further recognizes that the national authorities’ failure to provide protective measures ensuring the right to life of the applicants’ son and the lack of an effective investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death was not in conformity with the requirements of Article 2 of the Convention, notwithstanding existing Turkish legislation and the resolve of the Government to remedy such failures. The Government consequently undertakes to issue appropriate instructions and adopt all necessary measures to ensure that the obligation to ensure right to life of detainees or convicts and to carry out effective investigation into cases of suicide in prison is respected in the future.
These sums will be converted into Turkish Liras at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court to strike the case out of its list of cases. In the event of failure to pay these sums within the said three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on them, 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.”
6. On 26 September 2016, the applicants informed the Court of their acceptance of the abovementioned declaration.
THE LAW
7. 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. 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.
Done in English and notified in writing on 2 March 2017.
Hasan BakırcıNebojša Vučinić
Deputy RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy