8.  The applicant was born in 1948 and lives in Ankara. 9.  The applicant, a journalist, published an article entitled “State of Emergency and Provide Comfort Forces” (“OHAL ve Çekiç Güç”) in the 30 June 1995 issue of “Evrensel” (“Universal”), a daily newspaper published in Turkey. 10.  On 30 June 1995, at the request of the public prosecutor, a single judge of the Istanbul State Security Court made an interim order for the seizure of copies of the issue of Evrensel newspaper published on 30 June 1995. 11.  On 3 July 1995 the public prosecutor attached to the Istanbul State Security Court charged the applicant and the editor-in-chief of the newspaper with incitement to hatred and hostility by making distinctions on the basis of race and region under Article 312 §§ 2 and 3 of the Criminal Code. 12.  On 23 September 1995 the applicant was released from prison after having served his sentence of one year and eight months’ imprisonment, stemming from another conviction by the Ankara State Security Court in connection with an earlier charge of incitement to hatred. 13.  On 17 November 1995 the Ankara State Security Court commuted the applicant’s prison sentence to a fine in accordance with Law no. 4126, which came into force on 27 October 1995. The sentence was subsequently suspended. 14.  On 15 May 1996 the Istanbul State Security Court, composed of three judges including a military judge, found the applicant guilty as charged. The court sentenced the applicant to one year and eight months’ imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 Turkish liras. The applicant was sentenced in absentia. 15.  On 18 November 1996 the Court of Cassation quashed the judgment of the Istanbul State Security Court stating that the lower court should not have convicted the applicant without hearing his defence. 16.  The case was remitted to the Istanbul State Security Court. 17.  On 29 December 1997 the Istanbul State Security Court convicted the applicant once again under Article 312 §§ 2 and 3 of the Criminal Code. It ruled that the impugned article, taken as a whole, amounted to incitement to hatred and hostility on the basis of distinctions between races and regions. The court sentenced the applicant under Article 312 §§ 2 and 3 of Criminal Code to one year and eight months’ imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 Turkish liras. 18.  On 12 January 1998 the applicant appealed to the Court of Cassation. 19.  On 16 March 1998 the Court of Cassation upheld the Istanbul State Security Court’s judgment of 29 December 1997. 20.  On 17 August 1998 the applicant lodged a petition with the Istanbul State Security Court. He requested that the period that he had been imprisoned due to his conviction by the Ankara State Security Court be deducted from the prison sentence ordered by the Istanbul State Security Court. 21.  On 11 September 1998 the Istanbul State Security Court accepted the applicant’s request and, therefore, the applicant was not imprisoned.