STRASBOURG, France
Turkey conducted an "inadequate criminal investigation" into the case of two missing Turkish nationals, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled.
The court said in a press release issued in Strasbourg on Tuesday that Turkish local authorities had failed to answer demands and petitions between June 1994 till May 2005 from Kadri Budak, whose father and son allegedly disappeared on May 30, 1994.
Budak, a Turkish national from Diyarbakır, claimed both his son and father, aged 14 and 60 respectively, were killed by Turkish military personnel after they were taken into custody in an area where a military operation was taking place.
Forensic evidence gathered from bones found by experts at the scene of the incident showed they belonged to Budak’s relatives and that his son had died from a gun wound.
Spent cartridges from military rifles were also found at the site.
Announcing its ruling in reference to Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the Right to Life), the European court stated the Turkish state should pay €30,000 ($37,000) in non-pecuniary damages and €5,000 in costs and expenses.
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