ECHR condemns Turkey for persisting Impunity (2010) of Torturers even of Journalists+

The message that ECHR from Strasbourg sent to EU Commission in Brussels at the eve of its 2011 Annual Report on Turkey's compliance with the commitments it has undertaken vis a vis the EU, from which Ankara receives almost 1 Billion € in Grants each year, (including from the Poor who pay VAT, even during the present period of Financial Austerity and Budget Cuts), clearly is that a Scandalous Impunity of Torturers still persists in Turkey, even against Journalists, as reveals a double Condamnation of the Turkish Authorities by an "Unanimous" ECHR Judgement for decisions taken on 2007 and 2010 in a case which unfolded long after the controversial 1999 EU choice to give Ankara a controversial and unpopular "Candidate" status :

According to the ECHR's Judgement, published today, "the Editor and owner of ..a monthly Political Magazine", suddenly faced, after Midnight, an intrusion and "search of the journal's office" by many Turkish Policemen, who "caried out an Identity check" and "arrested 4 persons, including" him, who "was Handcuffed and put in a miniBus to be taken to the (Turkish) Security Headquarters", during which the victim denounced that " he had been Beaten and Insulted ...by 3 (Turkish) Police officers", one of whom "had Head-butted him and Broken his Nose", before puttig him "in (Turkish) Police Custody" where "he had been Subjected to (further) ill-treatment", "was kept in a Dirty and UnVentilated place, Deprived of Sleep, obliged to listen to Loud Music, Sworn at and Threatened", put "under Phychological Pressure", etc.

 - "Taken to (a) Hospital (to be) examined, ....the doctor noted Bruises under (his)  Eyes and Swelling on the bridge of his Nose", where "an X-Ray" was "requested" because of the "Injury", which "revealed that (his) nose was Broken", and "concluded that he was Unfit to work for 10 Days", later extended up to "15 Days".

Nevertheless, the Turkish Government claimed that "the treatment that the applicant complained of had not attained the level of Severity proscribed by Article 3 of the (European) Convention" on Human Rights, concerning Torture and/or Inhuman/Degrading Treatments, and that the Turkish Policemen had used only "Justified Force", because the victim would have initially resisted the (Turkish) Police Officers during the Arrest" after the intrusion at his Newspaper Office after Midnight (see Supra), ECHR observed.

    But, on the contrary, the European Court "finds that (the victim's) Injury is sufficient to bring it within the scope of Article 3" (i.e. "Torture and/or Inhuman/Degrading Treatment"), since there is also "evidence.. established that (a Turkish) Officer A.Ç. had Broken the applicant’s Nose by Head-Butting him", i.e. by a "use of Force (which) had been Disproportionate", so that "the (Turkish) police officer (was, indeed) guilty of ill-treating the applicant" .

>>> - "In the light of the above, the (European) Court concludes that the Force used against the applicant was Excessive and that the (Turkish) State is Responsible under Article 3 of the (European) Convention (on Human Rights) because the applicant’s Injury was caused by a (Turkish) Police Officer". 'It follows that there has been a substantive Violation ....on account of the Inhuman and Degrading treatment to which the applicant was subjected", ECHR found "unanimously".
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    However, many Years after lodging a complaint for "Torture" and "Inhuman/Degrading Treatmentys" against his brutal aggressors, the victim "complained about the manner in which the investigation and the criminal proceedings had been conducted by the (Turkish) authorities, resulting in (total) Impunity" even of the main Torturer, ECHR notes.
Indeed, despite an initial indictment of at least one Turkish policeman, nevertheless, his expected Sentence was changed in a mere Fine by a Turkish Court on 2007, and, finally, on 2010, even the main suspect was completely ... acquitted, a Turkish Judge finding a pretext in the depassement of "Time limits" by delays obviously provoked by his own collegues earlier !.. "Due to this Delay, the criminal proceedings against the accused (Turkish) police officers were dropped as Time-barred"; observed ECHR.

=> "Accordingly", ECHR added that "there has been (also) a Procedural Violation of Article 3 of the (European) Convention" on Human Rights, (which strictly prohibits Torture and "Inhuman/Degrading Treatments", posing an Absolute Prohibition to Violate Human Dignity, in Any Circonstances whatever, even War, contrary to Article 2, which protects Human Life, but allows killing in several exceptional cirumstances ; f.ex. War, serious threat, criminals' escape, etc).
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 - " In view of the above, the (European) Court concludes that, both in this and in other cases concerning Ankara, " the (Turkish) Criminal Justice System .... was Not sufficiently Dissuasive to effectively Prevent illegal acts" of the type complained of" by the victim, i.e. Torture and/or Inhuman/Degrading Treatments.

- Indeed, it's not only in one or two, but Many times, that "the (Turkish) criminal law system has proved to be Far from rigorous, and Lacking in the Dssuasive effect capable of ensuring the effective Prevention of Unlawful acts" by Turkish Security Agents, ECHR denounces in its Judgement issued today (11/10/2011).

    >>> Because ECHR found already in Turkey a great "Number of Similar Cases" (i.e. concerning Torture and/or Inhuman/Degrading Treatments), "where prosecutions (against Torturers) have been Time-barred, following Lengthy Proceedings", artificially prolonged earlier by the Turkish Courts, EuroJudges criticized, revealing a Wide-spread, General Problem in that Country.

    => Impunity of Torturers and/or Murdereds and other brutal aggressors among the controversial Turkish "Security" Agents is, indeed, a Scandalously Repeated Problem throughout more than Fifteen (+15) Years of many ECHR Condemnations of Turkey between 1995 and 2011, that CoE's Committee of Ministers, responsible for supervising the implementation of ECHR's Judgements, notoriously faces in Strasbourg with a Record High number of Condemnations still Pending without execution by the Turkish Authorities, even after so many years, that it provokes a Serious Problem against both the Credibility and the overall Efficiency of the PanEuropean Mechanism for the protection of Human Rights.

    Frequent changes of EU Enlargement Commissioners and their staff in Brussels, , most or all of them "Socialists" and notoriously committed into enlarging EU's Borders without known limits, doesn't, however, help at all EU's own credibility when it speaks for "Human Rights" in the World, if some petty bureaucrats persist to ignore the full History of ECHR's 15-20 Years case-law and even several among its recent landmark Judgements concluding on a unique Experience during the 1995-2010 initial period.

    Today, this has resulted into Turkey becoming a crucial Testbed of EU's overall credibility on Human Rights policy in the World.