Armenian Genocide denial is not a crime, ECHR says

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Dec. 17 that denial of the 1915 mass killings of Armenians as genocide falls under freedom of expression, following an appeal from a Turkish politician to his conviction in Switzerland, reported the Hurriyet Daily News.

Turkish Workers’ Party (İP) Chairman Dogu Perincek, who had described the Armenian genocide as an “international lie,” had complained that Swiss courts had breached his freedom of expression, based on Article 10 covering freedom of expression.

The ECHR ruling stated that “the free exercise of the right to openly discuss questions of a sensitive and controversial nature is one of the fundamental aspects of freedom of expression and distinguishes a tolerant and pluralistic democratic society from a totalitarian or dictatorial regime.”

“The December 17 decision by the European Court of Human Rights must be condemned because it opens the door to the spread of hatred under the veil of ‘freedom of expression,’ and can be deemed as a sad example of Armenian Genocide denial,” said a statement from the Political Affairs Office of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.

“The fact that the court’s decision was not unanimous, signals that there is legal room to advance and change the decision. We must direct our efforts to that end,” added the ARF statement.

The ECHR judgment is not final, and may be appealed by any party within a period of three months