THE ECHR PERINCEK V. SWITZERLAND CASE: THE GRAND CHAMBER HAS RULED IN FAVOR OF DOGU PERINCEK

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the highest ranking chamber in the Court, has given its final judgment on the ECHR Perincek v. Switzerland case. The Grand Chamber held, by a majority (7 votes against 10), that Switzerland has violated Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention) regarding freedom of expression, and has therefore unjustly curtailed Doğu Perincek’s freedom of expression.

In 2005, in a number of public events in Switzerland, Dogu Perincek had stated that the events of 1915 cannot be characterized as genocide, and that the “Armenian genocide” narrative was an “imperialist lie”. Based on these statements, Armenian associations in Switzerland filed a court case against Perincek, accusing him of engaging in racism. Swiss courts subsequently found Perincek to be guilty in this case. Arguing that his freedom of expression as outlined by the Convention was violated, Perincek thus applied to the ECHR. With its 17 December 2013 judgment, the Second Chamber of the ECHR ruled in favor of Perincek. After the Second Chamber’s judgement, Switzerland applied to the Court to have this case reheard in the Grand Chamber, with the Grand Chamber accepting this application. The judgement issued today by the Grand Chamber is final.

ECHR Perincek v. Switzerland case – the text of the judgment issued by the Grand Chamber: http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng-press?i=001-158235

ECHR Perincek v. Switzerland case – press release regarding the judgment issued by the Grand Chamber: http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng-press?i=003-5199806-6438950

ECHR Perincek v. Switzerland case – the “Q&A” document regarding the judgment issued by the Grand Chamber: http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Presse_Q_A_Perincek_ENG.pdf