CASE OF ALTUN AND OTHERS v. TURKEY
Violation of Article 9 - Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Article 9-1 - Manifest religion or belief)
Paul Lemmens;Stéphanie Mourou-Vikström
5. The applicants were born in 1964, 1957 and 1947 respectively. The first and third applicants live in Ankara. The second applicant left Turkey subsequent to his criminal conviction giving rise to the present application. 6. On 21 August 2006 the applicants took part in a religious ceremony (mevlüt) on the premises of the Altındağ district branch of the Party for a Democratic Society (Demokratik Toplum Partisi – “the DTP”) in Ankara, at which they paid tribute to three members of the PKK, an illegal armed organisation, who had been killed by the security forces. One of the deceased was the first applicant’s nephew. The second applicant was the head of the Ankara branch of the DTP at the relevant time. The third applicant was a member of the DTP and a friend of the first applicant. 7. On 23 November 2007 the Ankara public prosecutor filed a bill of indictment with the Ankara Assize Court, charging the applicants and a number of other persons with dissemination of propaganda in favour of the PKK, under section 7(2) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (Law no. 3713), on account of their participation in the ceremony of 21 August 2006. According to the indictment, during the ceremony photographs of the deceased and the PKK’s flag were displayed at the venue and a film about the lives of the deceased was shown. In addition, the second applicant, the head of the Ankara branch of the DTP, made the following statement: “Our fears and worries continue. People are still being killed. In such a context, we would like this mevlüt to be a moment of peace and fraternity.” 8. On 24 September 2008 the Ankara Assize Court convicted the applicants of disseminating propaganda in favour of the PKK and sentenced them to ten months’ imprisonment each. In its judgment, the Assize Court observed, firstly, that the persons in whose memory the ceremony had been held were members of a terrorist organisation and that they had been killed by the security forces during an operation against that organisation. It also took the view that the choice of venue for the ceremony – the premises of a political party – and the fact that the PKK flag had been spread over the tables and photographs of members of the organisation had been displayed, contributed to raising serious doubts as to the applicants’ submissions that they had taken part in the ceremony in observance of their religious duties. The court considered that the applicants had committed the offence of dissemination of propaganda given that they had shared the feelings of mourning and sorrow for the deceased who had been involved in terrorism. It further considered that the venue where the ceremony had been held had turned into a propaganda venue in favour of the PKK. 9. Following an appeal lodged by the applicants, their conviction was upheld by a final decision of the Court of Cassation on 8 March 2010. 10. The first and third applicants served their prison sentences.