Gazioğlu and Others v. Turkey, No. 29835/05, ECtHR (Second Section), 17 May 2011

Use of force by police officers during political demonstration. Prohibition of torture. Freedom of assembly. 

Art. 3 ECHR
Art. 11 ECHR

1. The applicants had participated in an anti-war demonstration in Istanbul and they were arrested and taken into police custody. The applicants alleged that the police had perpetrated ill-treatment against them. They also alleged that the police officers' action constituted a disproportionate interference with their freedom of assembly. 

2. The Court held that injuries suffered by applicant in the attempt to resist police officers' arrest constituted ill-treatment. Moreover, there is no evidence that the use of force by the police could not be avoided in the circumstances of the case. 

3. The Court ruled that the police officers' action resulted in a disproportionate interference with the applicant's freedom of assembly. As a matter of fact, the applicants were not engaging in acts of violence during the demonstration, so there was no justification for the police to resort to the use of force. 

The Court noted that a question regarding the procedural dimension of art. 3 ECHR could have been raised, but the applicants did not refer this aspect to the Court.