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ARMENIA HIRES CELEBRITY LAWYER AGAINST TURKISH POLITICIAN
Daily Sabah, Turkey
Dec 24 2014
YUSUF ZIYA DURMUÅ~^
Armenia has hired celebrity lawyer Amal Clooney for the next round in
a case in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) against Turkish
politician Dogu Perincek. The ECtHR had previously ruled his denial
of the Armenian genocide was protected under freedom of expression
Dogu Perincek, chairman of the opposition Workers' Party (Ä°P) will
face Armenia in the next stage of his legal battle after the European
Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) cleared him of the charges of racial
discrimination and genocide denial by a Swiss court where he made
remarks defining the Armenian "genocide" as an "international lie."
Armenia decided to be a co-plaintiff in the case at the next hearing on
Jan. 28, and in an apparent aim at publicity for the case, hired Amal
Clooney (nee Alamuddin), wife of Hollywood superstar George Clooney,
whose wedding overshadowed her work as a London-based barrister
and activist.
Perincek, known for his fervent stance against the allegations of
genocide, was found guilty by a Swiss court in 2007 after he made a
speech calling the genocide "an international lie" during an event
in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2005. A Swiss court ruled his remarks had
racist motives, pointing to anti-racism laws in place that criminalize
denial of genocide. In a 2013 decision in favor of Perincek, the ECtHR
ruled that Swiss legislation criminalizing the denial of genocide
violated the principle of freedom of expression.
However, the ECtHR approved an appeal by Switzerland to the ruling
last June, much to the chagrin of Ankara, which described the move as
"politically motivated."
Encouraged by the ECtHR's approval of the appeal, Armenia, which
shied away from the previous hearing, has joined the legal battle as
a co-plaintiff. Armenian media reported that Clooney will join her
associate Geoffrey Robertson and two representatives for the Armenian
government in the appeal hearing in Strasbourg, France.
Assessing Armenia's decision to take part in the appeal hearing,
Perincek said it was quite normal since Turkey also participated in
the proceedings.
Perincek is confident that he will win the case. "We have the upper
hand in this case since we have a solid defense," he said.
He underlined that the case is not just about freedom of expression
and claimed the previous ruling by the ECtHR made clear that the
1915 incidents cannot be defined as genocide, "for instance, like
the Holocaust."
"As I was preparing my defense, people told me to focus on my right of
freedom of expression instead of saying that the genocide did not take
place, but I did not. Eventually, the court issued an extraordinary
ruling. The Turkish government lauded it and described it as a landmark
[decision], a revolting verdict," Perincek said. "Indeed, this case
put an end to the debate on a century-old issue and the court issued
a very brave verdict," he said.
Perincek, whose party pursues a strict anti-American policy, claimed
the court's ruling dealt a blow to the U.S. and European countries
advocating for the acceptance of the Armenian genocide. "They were
staunch defenders of [calling it] genocide, even more than the Armenian
diaspora," he said.
He said that the debate over the genocide issue was the work of those
trying to defame Turkey and was deliberately brought into question
in the past two decades in the light of Turkey's struggle against the
PKK. "There have been attempts to brand the Turkish army's crackdown
on terrorism as genocide in the same vein of the Armenian 'genocide,'
" Perincek said.
Armenia claims up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed in an act
of genocide by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 during World War I. Turkey
accepts mass deaths of Armenians during their forced deportation during
the war but claims the death toll was much lower and attributes mass
deaths to diseases and isolated cases of attacks. Ankara has also
urged Armenia to let historians handle the matter, though Armenia
demands recognition of the genocide in order to advance relations
between the two neighboring countries.
The ECtHR's first ruling in favor of Perincek was hailed as landmark
decision by some as it had implications for other countries attempting
to criminalize the denial of genocide including France. The French
parliament passed a bill criminalizing the denial of genocide in 2012,
but the French Constitutional Court struck it down on the grounds
that it violated freedom of expression and speech.
http://www.dailysabah.com/nation/2014/12/25/armenia-hires-celebrity-lawyer-against-turkish-politician
Daily Sabah, Turkey
Dec 24 2014
YUSUF ZIYA DURMUÅ~^
Armenia has hired celebrity lawyer Amal Clooney for the next round in
a case in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) against Turkish
politician Dogu Perincek. The ECtHR had previously ruled his denial
of the Armenian genocide was protected under freedom of expression
Dogu Perincek, chairman of the opposition Workers' Party (Ä°P) will
face Armenia in the next stage of his legal battle after the European
Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) cleared him of the charges of racial
discrimination and genocide denial by a Swiss court where he made
remarks defining the Armenian "genocide" as an "international lie."
Armenia decided to be a co-plaintiff in the case at the next hearing on
Jan. 28, and in an apparent aim at publicity for the case, hired Amal
Clooney (nee Alamuddin), wife of Hollywood superstar George Clooney,
whose wedding overshadowed her work as a London-based barrister
and activist.
Perincek, known for his fervent stance against the allegations of
genocide, was found guilty by a Swiss court in 2007 after he made a
speech calling the genocide "an international lie" during an event
in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2005. A Swiss court ruled his remarks had
racist motives, pointing to anti-racism laws in place that criminalize
denial of genocide. In a 2013 decision in favor of Perincek, the ECtHR
ruled that Swiss legislation criminalizing the denial of genocide
violated the principle of freedom of expression.
However, the ECtHR approved an appeal by Switzerland to the ruling
last June, much to the chagrin of Ankara, which described the move as
"politically motivated."
Encouraged by the ECtHR's approval of the appeal, Armenia, which
shied away from the previous hearing, has joined the legal battle as
a co-plaintiff. Armenian media reported that Clooney will join her
associate Geoffrey Robertson and two representatives for the Armenian
government in the appeal hearing in Strasbourg, France.
Assessing Armenia's decision to take part in the appeal hearing,
Perincek said it was quite normal since Turkey also participated in
the proceedings.
Perincek is confident that he will win the case. "We have the upper
hand in this case since we have a solid defense," he said.
He underlined that the case is not just about freedom of expression
and claimed the previous ruling by the ECtHR made clear that the
1915 incidents cannot be defined as genocide, "for instance, like
the Holocaust."
"As I was preparing my defense, people told me to focus on my right of
freedom of expression instead of saying that the genocide did not take
place, but I did not. Eventually, the court issued an extraordinary
ruling. The Turkish government lauded it and described it as a landmark
[decision], a revolting verdict," Perincek said. "Indeed, this case
put an end to the debate on a century-old issue and the court issued
a very brave verdict," he said.
Perincek, whose party pursues a strict anti-American policy, claimed
the court's ruling dealt a blow to the U.S. and European countries
advocating for the acceptance of the Armenian genocide. "They were
staunch defenders of [calling it] genocide, even more than the Armenian
diaspora," he said.
He said that the debate over the genocide issue was the work of those
trying to defame Turkey and was deliberately brought into question
in the past two decades in the light of Turkey's struggle against the
PKK. "There have been attempts to brand the Turkish army's crackdown
on terrorism as genocide in the same vein of the Armenian 'genocide,'
" Perincek said.
Armenia claims up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed in an act
of genocide by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 during World War I. Turkey
accepts mass deaths of Armenians during their forced deportation during
the war but claims the death toll was much lower and attributes mass
deaths to diseases and isolated cases of attacks. Ankara has also
urged Armenia to let historians handle the matter, though Armenia
demands recognition of the genocide in order to advance relations
between the two neighboring countries.
The ECtHR's first ruling in favor of Perincek was hailed as landmark
decision by some as it had implications for other countries attempting
to criminalize the denial of genocide including France. The French
parliament passed a bill criminalizing the denial of genocide in 2012,
but the French Constitutional Court struck it down on the grounds
that it violated freedom of expression and speech.
http://www.dailysabah.com/nation/2014/12/25/armenia-hires-celebrity-lawyer-against-turkish-politician