ECtHR: Ahmet Altan’s freedom of expression violated

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The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has given its judgement on jailed journalist-writer Ahmet Altan and journalist Murat Aksoy.

The ECtHR has concluded that the following rights of Ahmet Altan have been violated: The right to liberty and security as per the Articles 5/1 and 5/5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR); the right to fair and speedy proceedings as per the Article 5/4 of the ECHR; and freedom of expression as per the Article 10 of the ECHR.

Turkey will pay Altan 16,000 Euro in non-pecuniary damages.

Commenting on the ruling, lawyer Banan Molu has said:

"I was expecting that the court would find a grave violation regarding the Constitutional Court's failure to take speedy proceedings and the allegations of arrest for political reasons. However, no violation has been found. Unlike the judgements on Osman Kavala and Selahattin Demirtaş, the ECtHR does not seem to impose an obligation of release as per the Article 46."

'No evidence, reasonable suspicion'

In its judgement on Ahmet Altan, the ECtHR has indicated that no evidence has been found in his actions and behavior to prove that he was planning to overthrow the government; therefore, the court has concluded that there has been no "reasonable suspicion" about his actions.

The ECtHR ruling has also noted that the judicial interference with his freedom of expression is not lawful.

Examining the complaints about Ahmet Altan being restricted from accessing the file, the court has said, "new evidence had been included in the file which had been brought to the applicant's attention only after the filing of the indictment. The applicant therefore could not be regarded as having had a possibility to effectively challenge the allegations against him."

The ECtHR has considered it an interference with his right of defense.

Aksoy's freedom of expression violated

In its judgement on Murat Aksoy, the ECtHR has concluded that his right to liberty and security and freedom of expression has been violated. The judgement has said that the charges brought against him were baseless; thus, his pre-trial detention cannot be explained with law.

Ahmet Altan's trial

Ahmet Altan was first detained on September 1, 2016, in an investigation into the failed coup attempt in July.

On September 23, 2016, he was remanded in custody for "being a member of an armed terrorist organization and attempting to overthrow the government of Turkey or to prevent it from fulfilling its duties."

He was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for "attempting to overthrow the constitutional order" in February 2018 because of three of his articles published before the coup attempt.

The 2nd Penal Chamber of the İstanbul Regional Court of Justice (the appeals court) rejected Altan's appeals and ruled for the continuation of his imprisonment.

The 16th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation overturned the verdict in July 2019 and ruled that Altan should stand trial not for "attempted overthrow of the constitutional order" but "knowingly and willingly aiding a terrorist organization despite not being included in the hierarchical structure in the organization."

In line with the high court's decision, the İstanbul 26th Heavy Penal Court sentenced Altan to 10 years and 6 months for this crime on November 4, 2019. It ruled for his release considering the time he served in prison.

On November 6, 2019, the prosecutor's office appealed his release. After the court's rejection, the appeal was sent to the İstanbul 27th Heavy Penal Court, which accepted the request and ruled that Altan should be arrested again.

Altan was sent to prison again on November 13.

Murat Aksoy's trial

As part of an investigation launched by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office after the coup attempt on July 15, 2016, 35 people, including journalists and academics, were faced with detention warrants.

27 of these people, including Murat Aksoy, were arrested.

29 people were charged with "membership of the organization" and "coup attempt" in the so-called "Media Structure" trial of the "Fethullahist Terrorist Organization / Parallel State Structure / FETÖ".

The judgement was given on October 24, 2017; Murat Aksoy was sentenced to 2 years, 1 month in prison for "knowingly and willingly aiding the organization."

Journalist Murat Aksoy and Atilla Taş spent 421 days behind bars as part of the trial; they were released on October 25, 2017. The prison sentence was overturned by the 2nd Penal Chamber of İstanbul Regional Court of Justice on October 24. Arrested again, Aksoy was released on January 4, 2019.

(AS/SD)