The applicant, Mehmet Tarhan, is a Turkish national who was born in 1977 and lives in Sivas (Turkey). The case concerns his refusal to do military service because of his pacifist beliefs. Having refused to wear a uniform, he was held in custody in the military prison, where he was subjected to disciplinary penalties for refusing to have his hair and beard cut, which was ultimately carried out forcefully by seven soldiers. Criminal proceedings were brought against him. Since his desertion in March 2006, the police have been looking for him; he faces fresh criminal proceedings and custody.

European Court for Human Rights found violation of Article 3 and violation of Article 9.

The Human Rights Council, Bearing in mind that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status,

Reaffirming that it is recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person, as well as the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and the right not to be discriminated against, ...

Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz has said his ministry is continuing to work on options for dealing with conscientious objectors. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the minister said their efforts are aimed at protecting the Turkish state from new fines to be imposed by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) due to Turkey’s policy of mandatory military service. In Turkey, military service is compulsory for all male citizens over the age of 20; however, if a man is enrolled in an institution of higher learning, he is allowed to delay his service until he completes his education.

CO Yaniv Mazor, 31 years old from Jerusalem, was arrested on 11 June, his birthday, for his refusal to take part in the Reserve Military Force. He was sentenced to 20 days of imprisonment in prison No. 4 near Tzrifin military base. Yaniv served in the military from 1999 to 2002 and returned a few times to do reserve service. After a personal process, he decided he can not do it any more and decided to refuse.

In today’s Chamber judgment in the case Savda v. Turkey (application no. 42730/05), the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been:

- violations of Article 3 (prohibition of degrading treatment) and 9 (right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion) of the European Convention on Human Rights; and

- a violation of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention on account of the lack of independence and impartiality of the military court.