Turkey has been sentenced to paying a total of 13,911 Euros to lawyer Ayhan Erdoğan and Yeni Asya newspaper Ankara representative Mehmet Cevher İlhan for restricting their freedom of expression.

Turkey has violated freedom of expression

Lawyer Erdoğan had previously been sentenced to paying compensation to a district mayor of Istanbul after calling him “heartless and sectarian”. He then appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). On 13 January, the ECHR considered his case and awarded him a total of 11,911 Euros in damages, arguing that Turkey had violated Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

As for journalist İlhan, he had been sentenced for several news items and articles published on different dates. The ECHR has awarded him 2,000 Euros for legal expenditure.

Violence against eight students

In a third case, the ECHR considered the case of eight students from Istanbul University’s Student Coordination who had staged a protest at the beginning of the academic year. They had been treated violently, and the ECHR argued that Turkey had violated their right to freedom of expression. However, the students, Rüya Kurtuluş, Erdinç Gök, Haşim Özgür Ersoy, İnci Açık, Serpil Ocak, Ayfer Çiçek, Nuri Günay and Murat Kaya, will not be paid compensation. (EÖ)