The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled on Tuesday that Turkey violated the right to freedom of expression in 58 cases involving individuals convicted for expressing critical opinions.
In its judgment in Parlas and Others v. Türkiye, the Strasbourg-based court examined the applications jointly due to their similar subject matter. The rights court unanimously ruled that Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights concerning freedom of expression had been violated.
The applicants had been prosecuted and sentenced to prison for activities such as carrying banners, chanting slogans during demonstrations or funerals and posting messages on social media deemed critical of the authorities. Some posts included statements describing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a “dictator” or were interpreted by Turkish courts as praising the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) or groups allegedly linked to it.
They were charged under various provisions of the Turkish Penal Code, including “inciting the public to hatred and enmity,” “insulting the president” and “disseminating propaganda in favor of a terrorist organization.”
Turkish courts handed down suspended sentences in all cases, meaning they will not serve time in prison unless they commit a similar offense within the next five years. Turkey’s Constitutional Court subsequently rejected the applicants’ individual petitions, finding no violations.
Rejecting Ankara’s argument that no actual convictions had been added to the criminal records of applicants, the ECtHR held that suspended sentences still constituted an interference with freedom of expression.
The court ordered Turkey to pay €2,000 in non-pecuniary damages to all applicants, except for seven who failed to submit their claims within the prescribed time limit.
