The case of Aydin and Others vs Turkey, decided by the ECtHR on the 12th of March, 2019, is a case joining a large number of applications with similar factual and legal background. It concerns the curfews imposed in various towns in Southeast Turkey in the period of 2015-2016 by local governors, as well as the security operations carried out by the Turkish forces during the course of those curfews. The applicants are the relatives of victims who lost their lives during the security operations. They complained under Article 2 of the Convention that the Turkish State authorities “had not taken the necessary measures to protect their relatives’ right to life, that their relatives had been unlawfully killed as a result of the security operation carried out by the security forces and that no effective investigation had been conducted into their deaths.” In addition, the complaint alleges violations of Article 5(1) ECHR and Article 8 ECHR, stating that due to the curfews, the individuals’ right to liberty and right to private life respectively have been infringed.

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The ECtHR declared the case inadmissible for failure to have exhausted all domestic remedies. In this regard, while some of the applicants had not filed complaints with the relevant national institutions, others’ applications are still pending before the Turkish Constitutional Court. While the applicants have stressed that there has been lack of independent and impartial judicial system in Turkey, the ECtHR once again remained unpersuaded. The Strasbourg Court referred to its previously decided cases, where it had found that the individual application to the Turkish Constitutional Court is an effective remedy for violations of the ECHR.