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Gajur DEARI and Others v the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - 54415/09 [2012] ECHR 496 (6 March 2012)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2012/496.html
Cite as:
[2012] ECHR 496
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FIRST
SECTION
DECISION
Application no.
54415/09
Gajur DEARI and Others
against
"the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"
The
European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting
on 6 March 2012 as a Chamber composed of:
Nina
Vajić,
President,
Peer
Lorenzen,
Khanlar
Hajiyev,
Mirjana
Lazarova Trajkovska,
Julia
Laffranque,
Linos-Alexandre
Sicilianos,
Erik
Møse,
judges,
and Søren Nielsen,
Section Registrar,
Having
regard to the above application lodged on 12 October 2009,
Having
regard to the decision to grant priority to the above application
under Rule 41 of the Rules of Court,
Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent
Government and the observations in reply submitted by the applicants,
Having regard to the fact that, on 1 February 2011, the Court changed
the composition of its Sections (Rule 25 § 1) and this case was
assigned to the newly composed First Section (Rule 52 § 1),
Having
deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicants, Mr Gajur Deari
(“the first applicant”), Mr Bedri Murtezanov (“the
second applicant”) and Mr Asllan Sherifi (“the third
applicant”), are Macedonian nationals who were born in 1952,
1952 and 1955 respectively and live in Golema Recica, Tetovo and
Skopje. They were represented before the Court by Ms Nuala Mole, of
the Aire Centre (Advice on Individual Rights in Europe,
London). The Macedonian Government (“the Government”)
were initially represented by their former
Agent, Mrs R. Lazareska Gerovska, succeeded subsequently by their
present Agent, Mr K. Bogdanov.
A. The circumstances of the case
The
facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as
follows.
1. Background of the case
The
first applicant is the father of Mr Agron Deari (“Mr A.D.”)
who was killed on 30 August 2002; the second applicant is the father
of Mr Jakup Murtezanov (“Mr J.M.”); and the third
applicant is the father of Mr Qahil Sherifi (“Mr Q.S.”).
Mr J.M. and Mr Q.S. were killed on 7 September 2003.
The
Government invited the Court to view the events giving rise to the
applicants’ complaints in the light of the 2001 armed conflict
between ethnic Albanians and the Government security forces and the
fact that armed criminal groups were still active in the former
crisis areas several years after the conflict. In respect of Mr
A.D.’s killing, particular attention was drawn to the incidents
of 29 August 2002 on the Tetovo-Gostivar highway (“the
highway”) in which armed civilians kidnapped eight persons,
including two minor girls. In this connection the Government referred
to a public announcement of 30 August 2002 in which the Ministry of
the Interior (“the Ministry”) called for the inhabitants
of neighbouring villages to remain, for security reasons, in their
homes.
2. Events related to Mr A.D.’s death
At
3.30 a.m. on 30 August 2002 Mr A.D. was travelling in a car with
foreign registration plates, together with J.I., when police officers
from the special police force “Lions”, under the
Ministry, stopped them on the highway. According to a report drawn up
the same day by the Ministry, Mr A.D., in an attempt to flee the
scene, resisted the security forces by pulling out a pistol. Firearms
were used against him. He sustained several bodily injuries.
Furthermore, two pistols were found in the car. The local police
station was alerted immediately. Police officers arrived at the scene
and took Mr A.D., who still held the pistol in his hand, to the local
medical centre where his death was confirmed. J.I. was arrested on
account of unlawful possession of firearms and released without
charge. The names of the officers involved in his arrest were not
recorded in any register of the Ministry.
On
the same day the investigating judge, public prosecutor, police and
representatives of the OSCE’s mission in the respondent State
inspected the scene, but no useful evidence was found owing to heavy
rainfall. In a written and duly signed statement given before the
investigating judge, the first applicant requested that no autopsy or
investigation be conducted in relation to his son’s death. In
view of that request, the investigating judge ordered an external
examination of Mr A.D.’s corpse and requested that an expert
describe the injuries, the way in which they had been sustained, as
well as to determine, if possible, the time and direct cause of Mr
A.D.’s death. The expert report noted bruises to Mr A.D.’s
head, face, chest and stomach and several penetrating gun-shot wounds
to his leg, arms, chest and neck.
On
2 September 2002 the public prosecutor requested that the
investigating judge take certain steps to investigate Mr A.D.’s
death. The request referred to the on-site examination report of 30
August 2002, which was to be regarded as a criminal complaint.
On
5 September 2002 the Ministry questioned J.I. According to a report
signed by a police officer, J.I. stated, inter alia:
“... we [with Mr A.D.] were stopped by the police.
I showed them my ID and car registration document. The officers
ordered me to step out of the car. A. [Mr A.D.] got out of the car as
well. I was ordered to open the boot. ... During the search of the
boot and the interior of the car, I heard an officer saying ‘I’ve
found two guns’. After this statement, my hands were put behind
my back and tied ... At one moment, they put my head in the boot.
While my torso was in the boot I heard gunshots, after which a
sweater was put over my head to prevent my sight ... I heard one of
the officers speaking into the radio, saying that one of the persons
concerned had been killed after he had fired a gun while attempting
to flee ...”
On
the same day, the Ministry submitted a criminal complaint against an
unidentified perpetrator. Photo documentation of the scene and of
Mr A.D.’s corpse, as well as expert reports confirming his
bodily injuries and bullet wounds were submitted to the investigating
judge.
On
22 November 2002 the Forensic Science Department (Управа
за криминалистичка
техника) at the
Ministry sent the investigating judge an expert report concerning Mr
A.D.’s pistol, which stated the following:
“... it was concluded that it had been fired from
the pistol submitted for examination ... all parts of the weapon are
fully operational ... A test was done for nitrate residue on samples
taken from Mr A.D. ... The reaction was negative, namely no nitrate
residue was discovered. We emphasise that the samples were covered in
blood, which significantly affected the analysis for nitrate
residue... Since the clothes were abundantly covered in blood, we
cannot determine the distance from which the gunshots were fired ...”
The
first applicant alleged that on 27 September 2002 he had notified the
OSCE’s representatives in the respondent State that he had not
been contacted by any competent institution in respect of his son’s
death. No evidence was provided in this respect.
In
February 2003 the investigating judge returned the case file to the
public prosecutor. The latter requested that the Ministry determine
the identity of the police officers involved in the incident.
In
a letter of 15 August 2003, the Ministry confirmed that the special
police forces had used weapons against Mr A.D. Information was sought
from the relevant department as to whether the officers concerned had
taken the required actions (see paragraphs 35 and 36 below) after the
incident.
In
December 2003 the public prosecutor again asked the Ministry to
submit the required information.
At
the same time, a working group was set up to investigate several
cases of alleged police abuse of citizens of Albanian ethnic origin,
including the present case. The working group involved
representatives of the Ministry, the OSCE, the EU, NATO and the US
Embassy in the respondent State. The working group operated between
December 2004 and October 2005.
On
12 January 2005 the investigating judge heard evidence from J.I.
According to the transcript signed by J.I., the latter stated,
inter alia:
“... When we approached the toll booth on the
Tetovo-Gostivar highway, I noticed a high police presence and decided
to turn around and take the ‘old road’... While driving
on the old road ... I again noticed a high police presence; the road
was blocked by a heavy vehicle. At both sides of the road there were
many armed police officers. A police officer used a lamp to stop our
car. He approached the car and requested documents. I gave him my
registration document and my ID. Then he grabbed my shirt and pulled
me out of the car. After me, Mr A.D. was also removed from the car.
Both of us were standing in front of the car, while police officers
conducted the search. One of them said that he had found two guns in
the car. Each of them belonged to me and A. [Mr A.D.]. At that
moment, a police officer grabbed the handcuffs on my hands which were
behind my back and pulled them up; another officer grabbed my leg and
pushed me to the ground. They dragged me to the back of the car. ...
They put me head first into the boot. My legs were outside the car.
An officer pointed an automatic gun at my head and another beat me. I
couldn’t see what was happening to A. I heard someone saying
‘stop, hold on’. Gunshots were subsequently heard, I
think from several weapons, but I did not know what was going on.
They took off my sweater and put it over my head. They took me out of
the boot and placed me on the ground ...The two pistols were in the
compartment in front of A.’s seat ... The person who pulled me
out of the car that night was wearing a mask, so I could see only his
eyes, I couldn’t see his face. Others were wearing masks as
well. I only noticed the ‘Lions’ symbol on their
uniforms...”
Between
March and June 2005, the investigating judge examined eight police
officers. Between September and December 2005, the investigating
judge requested, in vain, that a certain police officer, A.M., be
summoned.
In
December 2005 the file was forwarded to the public prosecutor, who,
in September 2006, returned it to the investigating judge,
requesting, inter alia, that the first applicant be examined.
By a letter of 17 November 2006, the investigating judge informed the
public prosecutor that the first applicant had not been examined
because he had not appeared in court owing to illness. After the file
was returned to the public prosecutor, the latter requested, by a
letter of 2 February 2007, that the Ministry undertake additional
measures to identify the individuals involved in Mr A.D.’s
killing.
On
15 September 2008 the first applicant, with the assistance of
Mr M.R., a lawyer from Skopje, sought information from the
public prosecutor about the death of his son and requested a copy of
the case file. On 17 September 2008 the public prosecutor informed
him that a file had been opened in respect of an unidentified
perpetrator and that certain investigative steps had been taken, but
the perpetrator had not yet been discovered. Mr M.R. was permitted to
inspect the case file.
The
first applicant took no further action. It appears that the
investigation into the killing of Mr A.D. is still pending.
3. Events related to the death of Mr J.M. and Mr Q.S.
On
7 September 2003 the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of
Defence conducted a joint operation in the village of Brest with the
purpose of apprehending an armed group suspected of having committed
several crimes, including robbery and kidnapping of civilians and
police officers. There was an exchange of fire in which automatic
long-range weapons and mortars were used. After the exchange of fire,
the security forces searched the area and discovered five bunkers and
a large quantity of heavy weaponry and ammunition. Mr J.M. and Mr
Q.S. were killed in this operation. According to the post-mortem
reports of the same date drawn up by the Forensic Institute, Mr J.M.
sustained six bullet wounds and Mr Q.S. sustained four. Gunpowder
tests confirmed the presence of nitrate residue on the hands of Mr
J.M. and Mr Q.S.
On
12 September 2003 the Ministry submitted photos and video material of
Mr J.M.’s and Mr Q.S.’s corpses to the public prosecutor,
as well as an expert report regarding the weaponry and ammunition
found.
On
7 November 2003 the public prosecutor requested information from the
Ministry of the Interior. In a letter of 11 July 2005 the Ministry
informed the public prosecutor that, owing to the use of heavy
weapons by the armed group, police officers had not been able to
reach the armed group’s positions, but that military forces
from the Ministry of Defence had arrived at the critical area
instead.
On
21 September 2005 the public prosecutor notified the Ministry that on
the basis of the available information there were no grounds for the
public prosecutor’s intervention.
As
stated by the Government, on the basis of recommendations of the
working group that also looked into this case, on 31 January and 4
April 2006 the public prosecutor contacted the Ministry of Defence
seeking information about the operation. In a letter of 5 June 2006,
the Ministry of Defence indicated that the operation had been carried
out by the Ministry of the Interior. On 15 February 2007 the public
prosecutor requested that both Ministries clarify the inconsistencies
concerning their involvement in the operation. In submissions of 16
April 2007, the Ministry of the Interior confirmed its position
indicated in its letter of 11 July 2005 and invited the public
prosecutor to clarify the matter with the Ministry of Defence. The
same was repeated in the Ministry’s letter dated 26 June 2008.
On
17 September 2008 the second and third applicants, represented by Mr
M.R., asked the public prosecutor to provide them with a copy of the
case file. They stated that all the information they had obtained
about the death of Mr J.M. and Mr Q.S. had come from the media since
no competent institution had ever contacted them concerning the case.
By a letter of 26 December 2008, the public prosecutor informed
the second and third applicants of his requests for information from
both Ministries and his “resolution” of 21 September 2005
(see paragraph 24 above). According to the Government, this letter
was sent on 21 January 2009.
The
second and third applicants took no further action. It appears that
the investigation into the killing of Mr J.M. and Mr Q.S. is still
pending.
4. Relevant articles and reports published by
international human rights organisations
The
applicants submitted extracts of articles and reports published
between April 1998 and 2005 by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty
International about alleged police abuse, in particular of Macedonian
citizens of Albanian ethnic origin. Most of the documents concerned
the period before and after the 2001 armed conflict. None of them
discussed the deaths of the applicants’ sons.
B. Relevant domestic law
Article
123 of the Criminal Code provides that a person who takes the life of
another shall be punished with imprisonment of at least five years.
It also provides for imprisonment of at least ten years or lifetime
imprisonment in the case of aggravated murder.
The
provisions of the Criminal Proceedings Act relevant to the present
case were described in the Jašar judgment (see Jašar
v. the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, no. 69908/01, §§
33-40, 15 February 2007).
Section
25 (1) and (3) of the Public Prosecution Act of 2004 (Закон
за Јавното
Обвинителство,
Official Gazette no. 38/2004) provided that citizens, bodies
and other legal persons could make submissions, complaints and
statements to the public prosecutor in relation to activities that
fell within his or her competence. The public prosecutor was required
to take, as soon as possible, but not later than three months after
the service of a criminal complaint, any action specified by law.
Under
section 47 of this Act, the superior prosecutor’s office
supervised the work of the subordinate prosecutor’s office
through an inspection of case files and in any other way.
Section
21 of the Public Prosecution Act of 2007 (Official Gazette
no.150/2007) provides that the superior prosecutor’s office
supervises the work of the subordinate prosecutor’s office in
concrete cases brought before the latter. The aim of that supervision
is to detect inter alia any lack of professionalism, unlawful,
untimely or irresponsible performance by the public prosecutor
concerned and any serious violation of the rights of parties or other
persons that participate in the proceedings.
Section
39 (1) and (3) of that Act provides for the same rules as those
specified in section 25 of the 2004 Public Prosecution Act (see
paragraph 31 above).
Under
Article 27 of the Government Decree on the use of coercion and
firearms, when means of coercion or firearms have been used, the
State official concerned must submit a written report to his
immediate superior who will decide whether the action was lawful and
justified.
Article
28 of this Decree provides that when a person is killed as a result
of the use of means of coercion or firearms, a special commission
must examine the circumstances of the case and give an opinion as to
whether the use of firearms was appropriate and justified.
COMPLAINTS
The
applicants complained under Article 2 of the Convention that the
State had been responsible for their sons’ deaths and for the
lack of effective investigations into the killings. They also alleged
a lack of an effective remedy under Article 13 of the Convention.
Relying on the documents published by international human-rights
organisations (see paragraph 28 above), the applicants also
complained under Article 14, taken in conjunction with Article 2 of
the Convention, that there had been discrimination on the basis of
their sons’ ethnic origin.
THE LAW
The
applicants complained that their sons’ deaths and the lack of
effective investigations into their killing had been in breach of
Articles 2, 13 and 14, the latter taken in conjunction with Article 2
of the Convention. These Articles read as follows:
“Article 2
1. Everyone’s right to life shall be
protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally
save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his
conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law.
2. Deprivation of life shall not be regarded
as inflicted in contravention of this article when it results from
the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary:
(a) in defence of any person from unlawful
violence;
(b) in order to effect a lawful arrest or to
prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained;
(c) in action lawfully taken for the purpose
of quelling a riot or insurrection.
Article 13
Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in [the]
Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a
national authority notwithstanding that the violation has been
committed by persons acting in an official capacity.
Article 14
The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in
[the] Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any
ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or
other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national
minority, property, birth or other status.”
A. The parties’ submissions
The
Government submitted that the applicants had not complied with the
six-month rule. They had remained inactive during the proceedings.
They had not requested information from the competent authorities
about their cases until over six years after the death of Mr A.D. and
five years after the deaths of Mr J.M. and Mr Q.S. According to the
Government, before submitting these requests, the applicants had
known or ought to have known that the investigations had not been
effective in their cases. The last step had been taken in February
2007 (see paragraphs 18 and 25 above). At the latest, they should
have become aware of that fact after having received the public
prosecutor’s replies of 17 September and 26 December 2008 (see
paragraphs 19 and 26 above). Even if that was the case, more than six
months had lapsed before the introduction of the application before
the Court.
The
applicants contested the Government’s objection arguing that
they had taken steps to keep track of the investigations’
progress. In particular they had communicated with each other and
with the members of the working group, during and after the period of
its work. In this connection they submitted that in March 2008 the
OSCE had confirmed to the second and third applicants that the
investigation was still ongoing. Furthermore, the fact that the first
applicant had been called for an interview in November 2006 implied
that the investigation had been ongoing. Given the international
attention on their cases, it was understandable that they had waited
longer for the results of the investigations without themselves
taking the initiative and seeking information about the proceedings.
Having regard to the discussions and report sent by the Ministry to
the public prosecutor, as late as in June 2008, the investigations in
the present case could have been regarded as still pending. In any
case, the applicants should have had the benefit of a full year after
September and December 2008 respectively before they should have been
aware that the investigations were ineffective (see Narin v.
Turkey, no. 18907/02, § 50, 15 December 2009). This was
because they had been reassured on those dates by the public
prosecutor that the investigations were ongoing. They had reasonably
believed that contacting the public prosecutor would have accelerated
the investigations.
B. The Court’s assessment
The
Court reiterates that the purpose of the six-month rule is to promote
security of law and to ensure that cases raising issues under the
Convention are dealt with within a reasonable time. Furthermore, it
ought also to protect the authorities and other persons concerned
from being under any uncertainty for a prolonged period of time. The
rule also affords the prospective applicant time to consider whether
to lodge an application and, if so, to decide on the specific
complaints and arguments to be raised (see, for example, Worm v.
Austria, 29 August 1997, §§ 32-33, Reports of
Judgments and Decisions 1997-V). The rule should ensure that it
is possible to ascertain the facts of the case before that
possibility fades away, making a fair examination of the question at
issue next to impossible (see Abuyeva and Others v. Russia,
no. 27065/05, § 172, 2 December 2010).
As
a rule, the six-month period runs from the date of the final decision
in the process of exhaustion of domestic remedies. Where it is clear
from the outset, however, that no effective remedy is available to
the applicant, the period runs from the date of the acts or measures
complained of, or from the date of knowledge of such acts or their
effect on or prejudice to the applicant (see Dennis and Others v.
the United Kingdom (dec.), no. 76573/01, 2 July 2002). Where
an applicant avails himself of an apparently existing remedy and only
subsequently becomes aware of circumstances which render the remedy
ineffective, it may be appropriate for the purposes of Article 35 §
1 to take the start of the six-month period from the date when the
applicant first became or ought to have become aware of those
circumstances (see Paul and Audrey Edwards v. the United Kingdom
(dec.), no. 46477/99, 4 June 2001).
The Court observes that in a number of cases
concerning ongoing investigations into the deaths of applicants’
relatives it has examined the period of time from which the applicant
can or should start doubting the effectiveness of a remedy and its
bearing on the six-month limit provided for in Article 35 § 1 of
the Convention (see Bayram and Yıldırım v.
Turkey (dec.), no. 38587/97, ECHR 2002-III; Bulut and Yavuz v.
Turkey (dec.), no. 73065/01, 28 May 2002; Şükran
Aydın and Others v. Turkey (dec.), no. 46231/99, 26 May
2005; Elsanova v. Russia (dec.) no. 57952/00, 15 November
2005; and Finozhenok v. Russia (dec.), no. 3025/06, 31 May
2011). The determination of whether the applicant in a given case has
complied with the admissibility criteria will depend on the
circumstances of the case and other factors such as the diligence and
interest displayed by the applicants, as well as the adequacy of the
investigation in question (see Narin, cited above, § 43).
The Court has found that in cases concerning instances of violent
deaths, the ineffectiveness of the investigation will generally be
more readily apparent; the requirements of expedition may require an
applicant to bring such a case before the Court within a matter of
months, or at most, depending on the circumstances, a very few years
after the events (see Varnava and Others v. Turkey [GC], nos.
16064/90, 16065/90, 16066/90, 16068/90, 16069/90, 16070/90, 16071/90,
16072/90 and 16073/90, § 158, ECHR 2009-...).
In
the present case, the events of which the first applicant complained
occurred in August 2002. In September 2002 an investigation was
opened into Mr A.D.’s killing. In 2003 the public prosecutor
requested, in vain, on several occasions, that the Ministry identify
the police officers involved in the incident. In the first half of
2005, the investigating judge examined eight police officers and J.I.
The first applicant did not appear in court despite the fact that the
investigating judge requested that he be examined sometime before
November 2006.
The
Court notes that Mr J.M. and Mr Q.S. were killed in September 2003.
On the basis of information provided by the Ministry, on 21 September
2005 the public prosecutor found no grounds to proceed with the
investigation. However, further requests for information, the last
dated 15 February 2007, were sent to the Ministry of Defence and the
Ministry of the Interior.
Although
the investigations into the killing of the applicants’ sons,
formally speaking, are still pending, it does not appear that any
further steps have been taken since February 2007, the date when the
public prosecutor sought information from the competent Ministries.
The Government acknowledged this fact (see paragraph 39 above). The
Ministry’s letters of April 2007 and June 2008 concerning the
killing of Mr J.M. and Mr Q.S. (see paragraph 25 above), did not
contain any new element that had been unknown to the public
prosecutor.
The
Court observes that during the investigations the applicants were not
interviewed nor was any contact maintained between them and the
investigating authorities. The second and third applicants confirmed
this in their letter of 17 September 2008 (see paragraph 26 above).
The Court observes that even in the absence of communication from the
authorities, the applicants, who were the fathers of the deceased,
were not discharged from the duty to display due diligence and
initiative in informing themselves about the progress made in the
investigations (see Narin, cited above, § 45; Bayram
and Yıldırım, cited above; and Bulut
and Yavuz, cited above).
In
this connection the Court notes that no evidence has been provided
that the applicants applied to any of the competent domestic
authorities involved in the investigations. Indeed, they did not
contact the public prosecutor who investigated the killing of their
sons nor did they bring his or her alleged inactivity to the
attention of the superior prosecutor’s office despite the fact
that the relevant law provided for such possibility (see paragraphs
31-34 above). Furthermore, the first applicant took no action or any
initiative in relation to the investigation into the killing of his
son, neither before nor after the investigating judge had sought his
examination in November 2006 (see paragraph 18 above).
The
applicants did not show any interest by following up the conduct of
or the progress made in the criminal investigations until 15 and
17 September 2008 respectively, the dates of their first
requests seeking information from the public prosecutor. The lapse of
such a long time before the applicants addressed, for the first time,
the public prosecutor about the results of the investigations cannot
be considered, in the present circumstances, reasonable. The public
prosecutor’s replies provided just a mere summary of the
activities that had been undertaken without indicating any
possibility of progress in the investigations. In addition, the
available material does not suggest that there was any information in
the public domain purportedly casting new light on the circumstances
of the killing of the applicant’s sons. On the contrary, the
searches for the perpetrators had been ongoing for a long time
without any active steps being taken by the authorities or the
applicants, and without any evidence being brought to the
authorities’ attention (see Gasyak and Others v. Turkey,
no. 27872/03, §§ 60 and 62, 13 October 2009). Consequently,
the applicants’ letters of September and December 2008 (see
paragraphs 19 and 26 above) cannot be considered as having
constituted new development which could have revived the State’s
procedural obligation under Article 2 of the Convention and bring
accordingly the application within the six month’s time-limit.
The
purported communication with the OSCE, which had no direct role in
the investigations, is of no relevance. Furthermore, the working
group, which included members of the international community, had
ceased to exist already in October 2005, long before the applicants
introduced the application before the Court (see paragraph 15 above).
The second and third applicants did not substantiate their assertion
that they had exchanged information between themselves. Consequently,
they were unaware of any step taken by the authorities (contrast
Abuyeva, cited above, § 179). In such circumstances, the
applicants must be considered to have been aware of the lack of any
effective criminal investigations long before they introduced their
application before the Court. If that is not the case, the Court
considers that that was due to their own negligence (see Bayram
and Yıldırım, cited above, and Bulut
and Yavuz, cited above).
In
the light of the foregoing, the Court considers that the applicants
have failed to comply with the six-month rule. The application must
therefore be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 1
and 4 of the Convention.
For these reasons, the Court by a majority
Declares the application inadmissible.
Søren Nielsen Nina
Vajić
Registrar President