ECHR Punishes Turkey in Conscientious Objection Case

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)