"Free Radio" Vindicated at ECHR

The Özgür (Free) Radio station which had been given a broadcasting ban for a year after playing a song called "Nurhak" was vindicated at the ECHR.

Erol Önderoğlu

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has found Turkey to be wrong in the broadcasting ban of "Özgür" ("Free") Radio, saying that it represented a violation of the freedom of expression.

After the radio station played the "Nurhak" song on 9 July 2000, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) cited Article 4 (g) of Law 3984 on Radio and Television Corporations and Broadcasts and closed the station. It was argued that the song incited hatred and hostility. The broadcasting ban was approved by the State Council in 2002, after which the Özgür Radio- Ses Radio Television Broadcasting, Film-Making and Advertising Company appealed to the ECHR.

Radio station awarded compensation

The ECHR unanimously decreed that Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights had been violated. The company was awarded a total of 10,200 Euros, 5,000 in compensation and 5,200 for legal costs.

The ECHR announced that it was not necessary to further consider the case in the light of Article 14 of the Convention, which deals with discrimination.

Not the first compensation for Özgür Radio

The ECHR had sentenced Turkey to paying 17,000 Euros in compensation to the radio station before, on 30 March 2006, after the station had been closed first for three months and then a year. The court found the closures to be "disproportionate and unnecessary in a democratic society." (EÖ/AG)

Origin

Bıa news centre

Erol Önderoğlu

[email protected]

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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.