ECHR rules that Turkey violated Kurdish musicians' right to freedom of expression in Erdoan insult case

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled that Turkey violated the right to freedom of expression of Kurdish musician Hozan Can, according to the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA). reported.

In its decision of October 7, the second chamber of the ECHR grouped the Cans case with three others in the “Erdoan and others v. Turkey”, concluding that Turkey had violated the applicants' freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and ordering compensation.

Can, also known as Saide nan, was sentenced to one year and five months in prison in 2019 by the Edirne 6th Criminal Court of First Instance for allegedly insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan through a caricature shared on his Facebook page. The local court suspended his sentence, placing Can on five years' probation.

The MLSA, which represented Can, argued that the suspended sentence effectively acted as censure. When Turkey's Constitutional Court rejected the appeal as unfounded, the defense team took the case to the ECtHR, arguing that the suspended sentence violated Can's right to freedom of expression.

This decision is important for two main reasons. First, it asserts that harsh and provocative criticism of President Erdoan is freedom of expression, said Veysel Ok, co-director of the MLSA.

Second, the court found that the practice of suspending verdicts for five years effectively acted as a form of censorship, violating Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, it added.

The ECtHR specifically addressed suspended sentences, stating that this legal measure does not provide adequate protection against arbitrary interference with rights guaranteed by the European Convention. The court concluded that the suspended sentences constituted an illegal restriction on freedom of expression.

Ok stressed that the decision sets an important precedent in recognizing that the system of suspended verdicts can function as a form of censorship. The ruling shows that the five-year suspended sentence is not just a legal formality but a way to pressure individuals into self-censorship, he said.

Can was previously arrested on June 21, 2018 and arrested by a court six days later, including for his membership in the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and for insulting President Erdoan and Atatrk, the founder of modern Turkey.

Nan said that after her arrest, the officers forced her to undress and asked her to sign a document saying she would be released if she did so. After she refused, the police made her wait for two hours with her hands handcuffed behind her back. They then took her from Istanbul to Edirne early the next day and kept her in a small, dirty cell.

According to the singer, she fell ill because of the food given to her by the anti-terrorism police on the second day of her custody. She was taken to hospital, where her stomach was pumped. When she was transferred to Edirne Prison, she was strip searched by seven guards. Then one of the guards searched a body cavity, allegedly looking for heroin.

She was acquitted of inciting and insulting modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatrk, but was sentenced to six years and three months in prison, finding her guilty of membership in the PKK.

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