The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) announced today two convictions against Turkey for its violations freedom of expression against a civil servant and a student who had expressed their opposition to the authorities.
The first case concerns a contract employee of the Turkish Ministry of National Education, who had “liked” some content on Facebook mainly criticizing the repressive practices for which the authorities are accused or encouraging demonstrations against these practices, the APE reports.
The worker had been fired without compensation, as the Turkish authorities considered that these reports could “disturb the peace and tranquility of the workplace”. Her request to return to her post was subsequently rejected by justice. The seven ECtHR judges ruled unanimously that the dismissal of this worker constituted a violation of freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
“Article 10 leaves no room for restrictions on freedom of expression in two areas: that of political speech and that of matters of general interest,” the judges emphasized in their decision. They also point out that the motives for the dismissal “cannot be considered valid and sufficient”. Turkey was therefore sentenced to pay 2,000 euros to the former worker for “moral damage”.
The second case concerns a student who was convicted by a criminal court after delivering a speech in 2012 in support of students who had been detained for opposing then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to a campus. The ECtHR acknowledges that the student’s speech contained “some suspicion and a dose of hostility” towards Erdogan, but stressed that “the limits of acceptable criticism are broader for a politician who is targeted in this capacity than , what against an ordinary individual “.
The European Court of Justice finds that “there is no reasonable proportionate relationship” between the student’s conviction and “the legitimate aim of protecting the reputation of the person concerned”. The seven judges therefore unanimously convicted Turkey of violating freedom of expression and ordered it to pay 2,000 euros to the student for “moral damage” and 2,000 euros for costs and expenses.
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