36
CYPRUS v. TURKEY JUDGMENT
accompanied by arrests and killings on a large scale. The Commission
correctly described the situation as life-threatening. The above-mentioned
broadcast statement of Mr Denktaş and the later report of Professor Küçük,
if not conclusive of the respondent State's liability for the death of missing
persons are, at the very least, clear indications of the climate of risk and fear
obtaining at the material time and of the real dangers to which detainees
were exposed.
134. That the missing persons disappeared against this background
cannot be denied. The Court cannot but note that the authorities of the
respondent State have never undertaken any investigation into the claims
made by the relatives of the missing persons that the latter had disappeared
after being detained in circumstances in which there was real cause to fear
for their welfare. It must be noted in this connection that there was no
official follow-up to Mr Denktaş's alarming statement. No attempt was
made to identify the names of the persons who were reportedly released
from Turkish custody into the hands of Turkish-Cypriot paramilitaries or to
inquire into the whereabouts of the places where the bodies were disposed
of. It does not appear either that any official inquiry was made into the
claim that Greek-Cypriot prisoners were transferred to Turkey.
135. The Court agrees with the applicant Government that the
respondent State's procedural obligation at issue cannot be discharged
through its contribution to the investigatory work of the CMP. Like the
Commission, the Court notes that, although the CMP's procedures are
undoubtedly useful for the humanitarian purpose for which they were
established, they are not of themselves sufficient to meet the standard of an
effective investigation required by Article 2 of the Convention, especially in
view of the narrow scope of that body's investigations (see paragraph 27
above).
136. Having regard to the above considerations, the Court concludes that
there has been a continuing violation of Article 2 on account of the failure
of the authorities of the respondent State to conduct an effective
investigation aimed at clarifying the whereabouts and fate of Greek-Cypriot
missing persons who disappeared in life-threatening circumstances.
(b) Article 4 of the Convention
137. The applicant Government requested the Court to find and declare
that the circumstances of the case also disclosed a breach of Article 4 of the
Convention, which states as relevant:
“1. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude.
...”
138. The applicant Government contended that, in the absence of any
conclusive findings that the missing persons were now dead, it should be
presumed that they were still being detained in conditions which, given the