The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) unanimously held on Tuesday that Turkish authorities had not been in breach of their obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights regarding a suicide bombing committed in Ankara in 2015.
The present case concerns an application lodged against Türkiye by Turkish national Coşkun Selçuk on June 10, 2020. The applicant was among the demonstrators wounded in the Ankara attack, where two bombs were detonated during a demonstration. The applicant complained that the authorities had failed to take “preventative operational measures to stop the attack,” in contravention of the convention and the police’s use of tear gas following the attack “prevented the rapid intervention of rescue workers.” Additionally, he contended the state should be held “liable for breach of duty rather than on the basis of objective liability.”
Selçuk had previously made claims seeking compensation, some of which were denied or dismissed. He was awarded 15,000 Turkish liras ($456,26) by the Ankara Administrative Court in 2017. The applicant’s claims relied on Articles 2 and 3 of the convention. Article 2 of the convention protects the right to life, and Article 3 prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment.
The court held that Article 2 had not been violated “in the absence of a specific, concrete and imminent threat” to the lives of demonstrators, arguing that “the police had taken measures to ensure the safety of persons and property” at the rally. Acknowledging a “heightened duty of vigilance” existed due to previous similar incidents, the judgment noted the authorities had not underestimated the risk of an attack. The court found that police had taken proactive measures to ensure rescue workers could tend to the wounded, and the use of tear gas did not hinder the intervention. Concerning the state’s liability, the court noted the applicant had been awarded adequate compensation through the Turkish legal system, concluding the administrative courts satisfied the conditions of an “effective judicial system.”
The suicide bombing occurred during a demonstration in Ankara, the capital city, on October 10, 2015. The Labour, Democracy and Peace Rally, organised by the Confederation of Public Workers’ Unions (KESK), the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Türkiye (DİSK) and the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB), was authorized by the Ankara governor’s office. The rally was set to occur in Sıhhiye Square, and demonstrators had gathered in front of the Ankara central train station where the procession would begin, where two explosions erupted, killing 100 people and wounding 191 others.
The Bureau for Crimes against the Constitutional Order at the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office initiated a criminal investigation later that day. The Ankara Assize Court, in a 2018 judgment, found 19 of the 36 individuals indicted guilty of participating in the attack, charging them with premeditated murder, attempted murder and attempting to overthrow the government, were sentenced to life imprisonment.
