ECHR Punishes Turkey in Conscientious Objection Case

The ECHR has sentenced Turkey to paying Sanar Yurdatapan 3,500 Euros compensation for violating freedom of expression.

Erol Önderoğlu

Sanar Yurdatapan, spokesperson for the Initiative against Crimes of Thought, was yesterday (8 January) awarded 2,000 Euros in damages and 1,500 Euros legal costs by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Yurdatapan had been sentenced to two months imprisonment for a statement in support of conscientious objector Osman Murat Ülke.

Yurdatapan appealed to the ECHR in 2001, citing Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The court decreed that the statement did not incite to violence and did not openly call for desertion.

The ECHR declared that such a punishment was “unnecessary in a democratic society”. Furthermore, the court cited Article 6/1 and said that the right to a fair trial had been violated. (EÖ/TK/AG)

Origin

Bıa news centre

Erol Önderoğlu

[email protected]

all articles of the author

A graduate of the French Language and Literature Department at İstanbul University. He has served as the Turkey representative for the international organization Reporters Without...

A graduate of the French Language and Literature Department at İstanbul University. He has served as the Turkey representative for the international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), where he began as a reporter in 1996. Since 1999, he has worked at bianet, a project of the IPS Communication Foundation, as the coordinator of the Legal Support Desk, editor for freedom of expression, and editor-in-chief. He has authored more than 4,800 signed news articles and opinion pieces. He has also written for Bizim Gazete and the journal Güncel Hukuk. He currently prepares the Media Monitoring Reports at bianet.