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ECHR VERDICT ON PERINCEK'S CASE CONTRADICTS EC FRAMEWORK DECISION: DOMINIQUE DE BUMAN
13:25, 17 February, 2014
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 17, ARMENPRESS: The European Court of Human Rights
(ECHR) contradicts a European Council Framework Decision that ordered
member states to ensure that publicly condoning, denying or grossly
trivializing crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war
crimes were penalized. Armenpress reports that the Inter Press Service
(IPS) was informed about it by Dominique de Buman, the Swiss national
councilor and co-president of the Switzerland-Armenia Association
(SAA). Such framework decisions do not pose a legal basis for the
ECHR, however. De Buman also referred to the UN Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. "Don't forget that
the convention was adopted in reaction to the Holocaust as well as the
Armenian genocide," he told IPS. The ECHR ruling has sparked a debate
in Switzerland on whether or not the government should appeal the
decision and if and how Swiss anti-racism legislation may be amended.
Councilor De Buman told IPS he was optimistic that an appeal could
lead to a further examination of the case, as the ECHR ruling wasn't
unanimous: "Two of the seven judges had expressed a joint concurring
opinion. They stated that there existed an international consensus
regarding the characterization of the massacres against the Armenian
people."
Judges András Sajó and Guido Raimondi would welcome a Swiss appeal
to the Grand Chamber, as so far the court has never taken a view on
the massacres and deportations of the Armenians. "It's our symbolic
and moral obligation to define and qualify these events," they wrote.
Switzerland's Federal Office of Justice hasn't yet taken a decision
in that regard.
The ECHR ruling plays into the hands of right-wing groups such as the
Swiss People's Party (SVP) who have repeatedly tried to knock down the
country's anti-racism legislation. Consequently, the party's long-time
leader Christoph Blocher demanded a change of the criminal code.
Legally, the ECHR ruling doesn't force Switzerland to amendments.
Silvia Bär, the SVP's secretary general, told IPS that the party is
preparing a parliamentary request to specify or even abolish Swiss
anti-racism legislation. "We reject racism. However, the current
application of the legislation is getting increasingly absurd and
incorrectly limits the right to freedom of expression."
According to Bär, the anti-racism legislation is being misused to
discipline and sanction unwelcome opinions. In addition, the SVP
demands that Switzerland resigns from the International Convention
on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and that it dissolves
the Federal Commission against Racism (EKR).
Martine Brunschwig Graf, National Councilor for the Liberals and
President of the EKR has doubts about these intentions. "The ECHR
ruling is complex and doesn't put the Swiss anti-racism paragraph
in question," she told IPS. From 1995 to 2012, Swiss courts have
sentenced accusedpersons in 310 cases under that paragraph.
Brunschwig Graf calls the legislation an indispensable instrument:
"The fight against racism requires prevention at all levels, but also
repression if certain limits are surpassed."
Among the other parties, the Swiss anti-racism legislation enjoys broad
support. Hansjörg Fehr of the Social Democrats told the Swiss national
radio that if the criminal code was to be changed, then "we need a
passage that explicitly punishes the denial of the Armenian genocide."
The debate is expected to ignite at the next parliamentary session
in March.
The European Court of Human Rights satisfied the claim of the
political figure and the leader of the Workers' Party Dogu Perincek,
who was recognized guilty by the Swiss Court for denying the Armenian
Genocide. In 2008 the Swiss Court sentenced Perincek for three-month
detention for the denial of the Armenian Genocide and then the Court
substituted the detention verdict with an administrative fine. The
European Court of Human Rights substantiated the satisfaction of the
Perincek's claim with the fact that the Swiss Court had violated the
7th and 10th articles on freedom of speech of the European Convention.
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/750333/echr-verdict-on-perin%C3%A7ek%E2%80%99s-case-contradicts-ec-framework-decision-dominique-de-buman.html
13:25, 17 February, 2014
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 17, ARMENPRESS: The European Court of Human Rights
(ECHR) contradicts a European Council Framework Decision that ordered
member states to ensure that publicly condoning, denying or grossly
trivializing crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war
crimes were penalized. Armenpress reports that the Inter Press Service
(IPS) was informed about it by Dominique de Buman, the Swiss national
councilor and co-president of the Switzerland-Armenia Association
(SAA). Such framework decisions do not pose a legal basis for the
ECHR, however. De Buman also referred to the UN Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. "Don't forget that
the convention was adopted in reaction to the Holocaust as well as the
Armenian genocide," he told IPS. The ECHR ruling has sparked a debate
in Switzerland on whether or not the government should appeal the
decision and if and how Swiss anti-racism legislation may be amended.
Councilor De Buman told IPS he was optimistic that an appeal could
lead to a further examination of the case, as the ECHR ruling wasn't
unanimous: "Two of the seven judges had expressed a joint concurring
opinion. They stated that there existed an international consensus
regarding the characterization of the massacres against the Armenian
people."
Judges András Sajó and Guido Raimondi would welcome a Swiss appeal
to the Grand Chamber, as so far the court has never taken a view on
the massacres and deportations of the Armenians. "It's our symbolic
and moral obligation to define and qualify these events," they wrote.
Switzerland's Federal Office of Justice hasn't yet taken a decision
in that regard.
The ECHR ruling plays into the hands of right-wing groups such as the
Swiss People's Party (SVP) who have repeatedly tried to knock down the
country's anti-racism legislation. Consequently, the party's long-time
leader Christoph Blocher demanded a change of the criminal code.
Legally, the ECHR ruling doesn't force Switzerland to amendments.
Silvia Bär, the SVP's secretary general, told IPS that the party is
preparing a parliamentary request to specify or even abolish Swiss
anti-racism legislation. "We reject racism. However, the current
application of the legislation is getting increasingly absurd and
incorrectly limits the right to freedom of expression."
According to Bär, the anti-racism legislation is being misused to
discipline and sanction unwelcome opinions. In addition, the SVP
demands that Switzerland resigns from the International Convention
on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and that it dissolves
the Federal Commission against Racism (EKR).
Martine Brunschwig Graf, National Councilor for the Liberals and
President of the EKR has doubts about these intentions. "The ECHR
ruling is complex and doesn't put the Swiss anti-racism paragraph
in question," she told IPS. From 1995 to 2012, Swiss courts have
sentenced accusedpersons in 310 cases under that paragraph.
Brunschwig Graf calls the legislation an indispensable instrument:
"The fight against racism requires prevention at all levels, but also
repression if certain limits are surpassed."
Among the other parties, the Swiss anti-racism legislation enjoys broad
support. Hansjörg Fehr of the Social Democrats told the Swiss national
radio that if the criminal code was to be changed, then "we need a
passage that explicitly punishes the denial of the Armenian genocide."
The debate is expected to ignite at the next parliamentary session
in March.
The European Court of Human Rights satisfied the claim of the
political figure and the leader of the Workers' Party Dogu Perincek,
who was recognized guilty by the Swiss Court for denying the Armenian
Genocide. In 2008 the Swiss Court sentenced Perincek for three-month
detention for the denial of the Armenian Genocide and then the Court
substituted the detention verdict with an administrative fine. The
European Court of Human Rights substantiated the satisfaction of the
Perincek's claim with the fact that the Swiss Court had violated the
7th and 10th articles on freedom of speech of the European Convention.
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/750333/echr-verdict-on-perin%C3%A7ek%E2%80%99s-case-contradicts-ec-framework-decision-dominique-de-buman.html