PROCEDURE

The case originated in seven applications (nos. 74703/01, 74069/01, 76380/01, 16809/02, 25710/02, 25714/02 and 30383/02) against the Republic of Turkey lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”). Application no. 74703/01 was submitted by ten applicants, namely Mr Abbas Baran, Mr Mehmet Bayram Ceylan, Mr Mehmet Cihat Aydın, Mr M. Ali Ağın, Mr Mustafa Yağmur, Mr Hasan Buğa, Mr Fuat Albayrak, Mr Ahmet Hüseyinoğlu, Mr Enver Askan and Mr Hamdusela Ekinci. Application no. 74069/01 was submitted by co‑applicants Mr İnayet Çiçek and Mr Necat Öztemel. The remainder of the applications were submitted by Mr Nusret Atlı (no. 76380/01), Mr Musa Narin (no. 16809/02), Mr Şaban Canpolat (no. 25710/02), Mr Mehmet Fikri Yıldırım (no. 25714/02) and Mr Mehmet Salih Kömekçi (no. 30383/02).

The applicants were all represented by Mr Sedat Çınar, a lawyer practising in Diyarbakır. The Turkish Government (“the Government”) did not designate an Agent for the purposes of the proceedings before the Court.

On various dates between 2003 and 2005, the Court decided to give notice of the applications to the Government. Under the provisions of Article 29 § 3 of the Convention, it decided to examine the merits of the applications at the same time as their admissibility.

THE FACTS

THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

The applicants are all Turkish nationals who live in Diyarbakır.

In May 1999 the applicants were laid off by the Diyarbakır Sur municipality, with which they had been employed.

Each of the applicants brought an action in the Diyarbakır Labour Court, claiming outstanding salaries, dismissal indemnities, severance pays and other pecuniary rights.

On 11 November 1999 the court ruled in their favour and ordered the municipality to pay the following amounts in Turkish lira (TRL), including costs, together with interest running from June 1999: i. TRL 915,737,870 to Abbas Baran; ii. TLR 880,824,998 to Mehmet Bayram Ceylan0; iii. TLR 1,062,932,278 to M. Cihat Aydın; iv. TLR 911,348,350 to M. Ali Ağın; v. TLR 1,111,150,000 to Mustafa Yağmur; vi. TLR 935,170,454 to Hasan Buğa; vii. TLR 833,474,812 to Fuat Albayrak; viii. TLR 1,078,451,254 to Ahmet Hüseyinoğlu; ix. TLR 1,021,383,958 to Enver Askan; x. TLR 905,829,494 to Hamdusela Ekinci; xi. TLR 1,000,000,000 to İnayet Çiçek; xii. TRL 999,717,000 to Necat Öztemel; xiii. TRL 781,245,000 to Nusret Atlı; xiv. TRL 1,111,150,000 to Musa Narin; xv. TRL 863,345,000 to Şaban Canpolat; xvi. TRL 27,113 to Mehmet Fikri Yıldırım; and xvii. TRL 956,675,582 to Mehmet Salih Kömekçi.

In the absence of an appeal the judgments became final on 19 November 1999.

Within the following months, the applicants initiated enforcement proceedings in order to receive the due amounts. As their efforts proved fruitless, they requested the Diyarbakır Governorship to intervene to facilitate the enforcement of the court's judgments. The Governor's Office informed the applicants that they had requested the municipality to redress their grievances. However, the municipality did not make any payment since it was underfunded.

At the date of introduction of the current applications, the relevant judgment debts were still outstanding. However, in the meantime, friendly settlement agreements were reached between the following applicants and the municipality on the dates indicated: i. Abbas Baran on 17 January 2005; ii. Mustafa Yağmur on 25 December 2003; iii. Hasan Buğa on 28 December 2001; iv. Hamdusela Ekinci on 21 November 2005; v. İnayet Çiçek on 11 December 2003; vi. Necat Öztemel on 23 December 2003; vii. Nusret Atlı on 21 November 2005; viii. Musa Narin on 20 May 2003; and ix. Mehmet Fikri Yıldırım on 14 February 2002.

No settlement was reached with the other applicants. However, the municipality deposited certain partial amounts in the relevant account at the local enforcement office, which amounts were made available to some applicants and later paid.

On 9 November 2004 a settlement agreement was reached by the applicants' representative, Mr Sedat Çınar, and the authorities. The agreement concerned the outstanding legal fees stemming from the labour courts' judgments. Mr Çınar waived all of his rights and claims in connection with his representation of the applicants in the labour cases.

On 28 March 2005 Mehmet Salih Kömekçi, Ahmet Hüseyinoğlu and M. Cihat Aydın initiated fresh claims against the municipality to recover their severance pay.
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
check
001-80400_a6_e1
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QUASI
74703/01
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correct
001-80400_a6_e2
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74069/01
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001-80400_a6_e3
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76380/01
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001-80400_a6_e4
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16809/02
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25710/02
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25714/02
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30383/02
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001-80400_a6_em8
ORG
NO_MASK
Republic of Turkey
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74703/01
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001-80400_a6_e9
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PERSON
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Mr Abbas Baran
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Mr Mehmet Bayram Ceylan
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Mr Mehmet Cihat Aydın
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Mr M. Ali Ağın
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PERSON
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Mr Mustafa Yağmur
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001-80400_a6_e14
001-80400_a6_em15
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Mr Hasan Buğa
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001-80400_a6_e15
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Mr Fuat Albayrak
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Mr Ahmet Hüseyinoğlu
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Mr Enver Askan
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PERSON
QUASI
Mr Hamdusela Ekinci
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CODE
DIRECT
74069/01
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PERSON
DIRECT
Mr İnayet Çiçek
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001-80400_a6_e20
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Mr Necat Öztemel
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Mr Nusret Atlı
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76380/01
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001-80400_a6_e22
001-80400_a6_em25
PERSON
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Mr Musa Narin
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16809/02
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Mr Şaban Canpolat
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25710/02
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001-80400_a6_e24
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PERSON
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Mr Mehmet Fikri Yıldırım
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25714/02
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001-80400_a6_e25
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PERSON
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Mr Mehmet Salih Kömekçi
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001-80400_a6_e7
001-80400_a6_em32
CODE
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30383/02
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001-80400_a6_e26
001-80400_a6_em33
PERSON
QUASI
Mr Sedat Çınar
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correct
001-80400_a6_e27
001-80400_a6_em34
LOC
QUASI
Diyarbakır
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001-80400_a6_e8
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ORG
NO_MASK
001-80400_a6_em8
Turkish Government
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001-80400_a6_e28
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DATETIME
QUASI
between 2003 and 2005
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001-80400_a6_e29
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DEM
QUASI
Turkish
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001-80400_a6_e27
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LOC
QUASI
Diyarbakır
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001-80400_a6_e30
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DATETIME
QUASI
May 1999
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ORG
QUASI
Diyarbakır Sur municipality
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ORG
QUASI
Diyarbakır Labour Court
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QUASI
11 November 1999
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001-80400_a6_e34
001-80400_a6_em43
MISC
NO_MASK
Turkish lira (TRL)
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001-80400_a6_e35
001-80400_a6_em44
DATETIME
QUASI
June 1999
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001-80400_a6_e36
001-80400_a6_em45
QUANTITY
QUASI
TRL 915,737,870
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001-80400_a6_e9
001-80400_a6_em46
PERSON
QUASI
Abbas Baran
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001-80400_a6_e37
001-80400_a6_em47
QUANTITY
QUASI
TLR 880,824,998
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001-80400_a6_e11
001-80400_a6_em48
PERSON
QUASI
001-80400_a6_em12
Mehmet Bayram Ceylan0
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insert
001-80400_a6_e38
001-80400_a6_em49
QUANTITY
QUASI
TLR 1,062,932,278
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insert
001-80400_a6_e39
001-80400_a6_em50
PERSON
QUASI
M. Cihat Aydın
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001-80400_a6_e40
001-80400_a6_em51
QUANTITY
QUASI
TLR 911,348,350
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001-80400_a6_e12
001-80400_a6_em52
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001-80400_a6_em13
M. Ali Ağın
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001-80400_a6_e41
001-80400_a6_em53
QUANTITY
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TLR 1,111,150,000
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001-80400_a6_e13
001-80400_a6_em54
PERSON
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001-80400_a6_em14
Mustafa Yağmur
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001-80400_a6_e42
001-80400_a6_em55
QUANTITY
QUASI
TLR 935,170,454
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001-80400_a6_e14
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Hasan Buğa
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001-80400_a6_e43
001-80400_a6_em57
QUANTITY
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TLR 833,474,812
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001-80400_a6_e15
001-80400_a6_em58
PERSON
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001-80400_a6_em16
Fuat Albayrak
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001-80400_a6_e44
001-80400_a6_em59
QUANTITY
QUASI
TLR 1,078,451,254
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insert
001-80400_a6_e16
001-80400_a6_em60
PERSON
QUASI
001-80400_a6_em17
Ahmet Hüseyinoğlu
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001-80400_a6_e45
001-80400_a6_em61
QUANTITY
QUASI
TLR 1,021,383,958
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001-80400_a6_e17
001-80400_a6_em62
PERSON
QUASI
001-80400_a6_em18
Enver Askan
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001-80400_a6_e46
001-80400_a6_em63
QUANTITY
QUASI
TLR 905,829,494
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insert
001-80400_a6_e18
001-80400_a6_em64
PERSON
QUASI
001-80400_a6_em19
Hamdusela Ekinci
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insert
001-80400_a6_e47
001-80400_a6_em65
QUANTITY
QUASI
TLR 1,000,000,000
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
insert
001-80400_a6_e19
001-80400_a6_em66
PERSON
QUASI
001-80400_a6_em21
İnayet Çiçek
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insert
001-80400_a6_e48
001-80400_a6_em67
QUANTITY
QUASI
TRL 999,717,000
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001-80400_a6_e20
001-80400_a6_em68
PERSON
QUASI
001-80400_a6_em22
Necat Öztemel
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001-80400_a6_e49
001-80400_a6_em69
QUANTITY
QUASI
TRL 781,245,000
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001-80400_a6_e21
001-80400_a6_em70
PERSON
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001-80400_a6_em23
Nusret Atlı
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001-80400_a6_e50
001-80400_a6_em71
QUANTITY
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TRL 1,111,150,000
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001-80400_a6_e22
001-80400_a6_em72
PERSON
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001-80400_a6_em25
Musa Narin
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001-80400_a6_e51
001-80400_a6_em73
QUANTITY
QUASI
TRL 863,345,000
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001-80400_a6_e23
001-80400_a6_em74
PERSON
QUASI
001-80400_a6_em27
Şaban Canpolat
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001-80400_a6_e52
001-80400_a6_em75
QUANTITY
QUASI
TRL 27,113
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001-80400_a6_e24
001-80400_a6_em76
PERSON
QUASI
001-80400_a6_em29
Mehmet Fikri Yıldırım
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insert
001-80400_a6_e53
001-80400_a6_em77
QUANTITY
QUASI
TRL 956,675,582
NOT_CONFIDENTIAL
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001-80400_a6_e25
001-80400_a6_em78
PERSON
QUASI
001-80400_a6_em31
Mehmet Salih Kömekçi
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001-80400_a6_e54
001-80400_a6_em79
DATETIME
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19 November 1999
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001-80400_a6_em80
ORG
NO_MASK
Governor's Office
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001-80400_a6_em81
PERSON
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001-80400_a6_em10
Abbas Baran
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17 January 2005
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Mustafa Yağmur
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25 December 2003
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001-80400_a6_em15
Hasan Buğa
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001-80400_a6_e58
001-80400_a6_em86
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28 December 2001
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001-80400_a6_em87
PERSON
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Hamdusela Ekinci
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001-80400_a6_e59
001-80400_a6_em88
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21 November 2005
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001-80400_a6_em89
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İnayet Çiçek
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001-80400_a6_em90
DATETIME
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11 December 2003
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001-80400_a6_em91
PERSON
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Necat Öztemel
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001-80400_a6_em92
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23 December 2003
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001-80400_a6_em93
PERSON
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Nusret Atlı
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001-80400_a6_e59
001-80400_a6_em94
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21 November 2005
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001-80400_a6_e22
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Musa Narin
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001-80400_a6_e62
001-80400_a6_em96
DATETIME
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20 May 2003
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001-80400_a6_e24
001-80400_a6_em97
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Mehmet Fikri Yıldırım
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14 February 2002
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9 November 2004
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Mr Sedat Çınar
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001-80400_a6_em100
Mr Çınar
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28 March 2005
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Mehmet Salih Kömekçi
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001-80400_a6_em17
Ahmet Hüseyinoğlu
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001-80400_a6_e39
001-80400_a6_em105
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001-80400_a6_em50
M. Cihat Aydın
İnayet Çiçek
TUR
CHAMBER
Task: Annotate the document to anonymise the following person: İnayet Çiçek