5.  The applicants were born in 1959, 1965, 1972, 1959 and 1972 respectively and live in Aydın. 6.  The applicants were the Nazilli district directors of the Labour Party (Emeğin Partisi) at the time of the events. 7.  On 31 July 1997 the Izmir Magistrates’ Court ordered the confiscation of a leaflet entitled “The Kurdish problem is a problem of the people of Turkey”. On 1 September 1997 this leaflet was distributed by the Nazilli District Headquarters of the Labour Party. 8.  On 1 October 1997 the public prosecutor at the Izmir State Security Court filed a bill of indictment accusing the applicants of provoking hatred and hostility on the basis of a distinction between race and region. He requested that they be convicted and sentenced under Article 312 §§ 2 and 3 of the Criminal Code. 9.  On 17 March 1998 the Izmir State Security Court convicted the applicants as charged. Mr Çamoğlu was sentenced to one year nine months and sixteen days’ imprisonment and to a fine of 1,576,566 Turkish liras (TRL). The other applicants were sentenced to one year and eight months’ imprisonment and to a fine of TRL 1,433,333. The sentences of Ms Çamoğlu and Mr Kazan were suspended as they did not have a criminal record. 10.  On 6 April 1999 the Court of Cassation upheld the judgment of the first-instance court.