4.  The applicant was born in 1948 and lives in Ankara. 5.  On 6 September 1995, on the occasion of World Peace Day, the applicant spoke at a panel discussion which was organised by the United Socialist Party in Mersin. 6.  The applicant's speech read as follows:
“We have gathered here for peace. Hello to all who support fraternity for peace. In a system where the imperialist and socialist worlds exist, wars continue and the bloodiest war is in our country. We have reacted against the Serbian brutality over the Bosnian people. However, some of us ignored this dirty war which is against the human dignity. We have observed the consequences of an unjust and dirty war in the country. This war has continued for 11 years as the rights of the Kurdish people have not been recognised. 20,000 persons died as a result of this dirty war. 118 villages were burned down. Kurdish people were thrown out of their villages, off their land. The Kurdish problem exists in Turkey. Turks should also recognise this problem. Turkey is now at a critical point. Solution of the Kurdish problem in a just, democratic and peaceful way has now become a reality in everybody's mind. Then, why do they still want to continue this dirty war? This war caused the displacement of the Kurdish people from their land. Is this war only the problem of the Kurdish people? Is this week of peace only for the Kurdish people? No, it is a problem for the Turkish people, too. While the Kurdish people have been crying for peace for a week, isn't this a problem of the Turkish working class? Isn't the problem of the killing of the children of the Kurdish and Turkish peoples a problem of the Turkish working class? One third of the budget, which is 446 trillion Turkish liras, is used in the east and south-east. All this happens at which price? It is at the price of tears.
We, the Turks, Kurds, Alevis and Sunnis, are all against the war. We want peace. We want the lives of Kurds to be also protected by the Constitution. We want peace for the fraternity of the peoples.” 7.  On an unspecified date, the public prosecutor at the Konya State Security Court initiated an investigation against the applicant. 8.  On 29 January 1996 the applicant made a statement before the public prosecutor at the Ankara State Security Court. He contended that he had made the speech in question and that he had not committed the offence of incitement to hatred and hostility by making distinctions on the basis of race and region. He maintained that he had talked about the fraternity of the peoples, the peace and the war which should end. 9.  On 6 February 1996 the public prosecutor at the Konya State Security Court filed a bill of indictment charging the applicant with making separatist propaganda in contravention of Article 8 § 1 of Law no. 3713. 10.  On 10 April 1996 the applicant reiterated his statements of 29 January 1996 before the Ankara State Security Court. He asserted that he had expressed his opinions and that his speech had not contained any element which could constitute an offence. 11.  On 2 July 1996 the Konya State Security Court convicted the applicant under Article 312 § 2 of the Criminal Code of incitement to hatred and hostility by making distinctions on the basis of race and region. The applicant was sentenced to one year's imprisonment and a fine of 300,000 Turkish liras (TRL). The first-instance court held that the struggle in the region was directed against the PKK and its acts of terrorism and that in the speech the applicant had alleged that there had been a war in the region directed against the people. 12.  The applicant appealed. On 20 April 1998 the Court of Cassation quashed the judgment of the first-instance court, holding that the speech in question consisted of a critical assessment concerning the country's problems and that it did not contain any element which could constitute an offence. 13.  Following promulgation of Law no. 4210, which abolished the Konya State Security Court, the Adana State Security Court acquired jurisdiction over the case and the case-file was sent to it. 14.  On 16 December 1998 the Adana State Security Court, composed of three judges including a military judge, rendered its judgment. It did not abide by the ruling of the Court of Cassation, and held that the previous judgment of the Konya State Security Court was in accordance with law. It sentenced the applicant to one year imprisonment and a fine. The applicant appealed. 15.  On 20 April 1999 the Court of Cassation upheld the judgment of the Adana State Security Court. The court considered that the applicant had committed the offence defined by Article 312 § 2 of the Criminal Code by stating that the struggle of the security forces had been similar to the Serbian brutality and that the villages had been burned down and people had been displaced. The court further held that the applicant incited the people to hatred and hostility by alleging that the lives of the Kurdish citizens had not been protected by the Constitution and that there had been terror as the rights of Kurds had not been recognised. 16.  The applicant served his prison sentence in 2000. 17.  Following the promulgation of Law no. 4744 on 6 February 2002, which amended Article 312 of the Criminal Code, the applicant applied to the Adana State Security Court and requested a re-trial. 18.  In 2004 the State Security Courts were abolished following a constitutional amendment and the applicant's case was transferred to the Adana Assize Court. 19.  On 1 February 2005 the Adana Assize Court acquitted the applicant of the charges against him. 20.  On 4 December 2004 Law No. 5271 which provided a remedy for persons who have been acquitted following a re-trial whereby they can claim compensation for damages suffered due to the execution of a sentence was adopted. This law entered into force on 1 June 2005. Since the applicant was acquitted on 1 February 2005, he could not claim compensation for the time he had spent in prison.