ANKARA

Turkey's top court on Tuesday said the Turkish state has violated constitutional rights of four of its citizens by holding them in lengthy pre-trial detention.

In an unprecedented move as a domestic remedy of last resort, the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of four out of six petitioners who had argued that their right to speedy trial was breached.

ECHR has found Turkey guilty in such cases in the past. 

Last May, the European court rejected a Turkish national's appeal in a land confiscation case and designated the top Turkish court for the first time as a domestic remedy of last resort in individual applications, citing a latest regulation by the Turkish parliament that gives Turkish citizens the right to individual petition at the Constitutional Court before they could take their cases to Strasbourg.

President of the Constitutional Court Hasim Kilic told the Anadolu Agency that the court would act in full compliance with the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in cases on speedy trial violations following a decision taken last week that the completion of trial would not be sought for individual petitions on lengthy detention cases.

Violation of right to speedy trial and lengthy detention is a source of fierce criticisms targeted at the Turkish judicial system. 

englishnews@aa.com.tr