EIT: vastakuulusteluoikeuden puuttuminen loukkasi EIS 6 §§ 1 ja 3 (d) artiklaa

Euroopan ihmisoikeustuomioistuin (EIT) on tänään antamassaan tuomiossa katsonut, että kun vastaajalla ei ollut oikeutta vastakuulustella syyttäjän todistajia, joiden kirjallisille todistajanlausumille kansalliset tuomioistuimet olivat perustaneet syyksilukevan 12,5 vuoden tuomion, oli asiassa loukattu oikeutta oikeudenmukaiseen oikeudenkäyntiin. Kyse myös oikeudenmukaisen oikeudenkäynnin loukkauksesta, kun epäillyllä ei ollut oikeutta avustajaan häntä kuulusteltaessa.

EIT:n lehdistötiedotteesta:

In today’s Chamber judgment in the case of Gökbulut v. Turkey (application no. 7459/04) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been:

a violation of Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (c) (right to legal assistance) of the European Convention on Human Rights, and
a violation of Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (d) (right to examine witnesses)

The case concerned the inability of Mr Gökbulut, who was convicted of membership of an illegal organisation, to examine or have examined witnesses whose statements were relied on for his conviction, and the lack of legal assistance when he was held in police custody.

The Court found in particular that the proceedings had been unfair as a whole, since Mr Gökbulut had not had legal assistance while in police custody and had not had the possibility of examining or having examined witnesses against him, although their statements had been decisive for his conviction. The authorities had not given any serious reason to justify their failure to call the witnesses and had not taken any steps to counterbalance the admission in evidence of the absent witnesses’ testimony.

Koko lehdistötiedote löytyy täältä: here