The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) sentenced Turkey to a € 1,8000 fine in compensation to be paid to Adnan Görkan, distributor of Evrensel ('Universal') newspaper. Görkan had been arrested by the police in June 2004 because of vending copies of the daily in a café.

In the decision published yesterday (16 March), the ECHR stated that the interference against Görkan constituted a violation of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (freedom of expression).

Işıl Karakaş voted against the decision

The ECHR decided that "the 'invitation to the police station', which could be regarded as a restriction of liberty on account of its coercive nature and had not been based on any plausible or reasonable grounds, had likewise constituted interference with the applicant's freedom to impart information".

Judges Işıl Karakuş from Turkey and Danutė Jočienė from Lithuania voted against the decision.

Three-hour check after 'invitation' to the police station

Görkan was asked for his identity papers by the police while selling copies of Evrensel daily in a café in June 2004. According to Görkan, the newspaper copies were seized by the police and he was taken to the police station. A superintendant from the police station stated that Görkan had not been held in police custody and that a couple of checks were going to be done.

Görkan alleged that his detention in police custody for almost three hours had been arbitrary. The prosecutor declined Görkan's request to take action against the responsible people and decided to discontinue the proceedings. Thereupon, Görkan applied to the ECHR on 25 March 2005. (EÖ/VK)