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European Human Rights Court Hears Genocide Denial Case - Video
Wednesday, January 28th, 2015
Representing Armenia at the European Court of Human Rights were from
left Amal Alamuddin Clooney, Geoffrey Ronald Robertson and Armenia's
Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan
EAFJD Welcomes the Hearing in the European Court of Human Rights
STRASBOURG, France'A first-rate legal team, which included renowned
human rights lawyers Geoffrey Robertson and Amal Allamudin Clooney, as
well as Armenia's Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan, represented
Armenia at the European Court of Human Rights Wednesday during an
appeals hearing on the court's ruling in 2013 in favor of a Turkish
Armenian Genocide denier, in a case that is known as Perinçek v.
Switzerland.
The case concerns the criminal conviction of DoÄ?u Perinçek, Chairman
of the Turkish Workers' Party, for publicly challenging in Switzerland
the existence of the Armenian Genocide. The government of Switzerland
has also joined the appeals process, as have two Turkish human rights
organizations that have submitted legal briefs in favor of Armenia.
Representatives of Armenian organizations from Switzerland, France,
Belgium were present, and a handful of them have provided the Court
with written notes, alongside the Human Rights Association from Turkey
and The [Turkish] Center for Truth Justice Memory, which focused on
the personality of Perincek, his nationalist, anti-Semitic,
anti-minority and anti-Armenian rhetoric, for the Court to fully
understand the entire context, something which Geoffrey Robertson
stressed `Perincek is a denialist window shopper, going from one
European country to another.'
In her arguments Clooney highlighted Turkey's hypocrisy for defending
the Right to Freedom of Speech in Europe, while at the same time Hrant
Dink is murdered in Istanbul, and the same anti-Armenian sentiments of
a 100 years ago are still alive in the country.
Clooney went on to accuse the court of being `simply wrong. It [the
court] casts doubt on the reality of Genocide that Armenian people
suffered a century ago.'
`Armenia must have its day in court,' she added. `The stakes could not
be higher for the Armenian people.'
In her presentation, Clooney pointed out Turkey's double standards on
freedom of expression, when the country has been notorious in
suppressing speech, jailing journalists and event going as far as to
ban social media platforms such as YouTube and Twitter.
`Armenia is not here to argue against freedom of expression any more
than Turkey is here to defend it. This court knows very well how
disgraceful Turkey's record on freedom of expression is,' she said.
`You have found against the Turkish government in 224 separate cases
on freedom of expression grounds.'
Clooney also made reference to Hrant Dink, who was prosecuted in
Turkey for expressing his view about the Armenian Genocide and
subsequently was gunned down by Turkish nationalists in 2007. For
eight years the Dink case lingers in Turkish courts.
`Armenia has every interest in ensuring that its own citizens do not
get caught in a net that criminalizes speech too broadly. As the
family of Hrant Dink know about all too well,' said Clooney.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=84924572&v=iKIEqHWp3PA&x-yt-ts=1422411861
Switzerland has laws against the denial of all genocide as part of its
anti-racism laws but the ECHR ruled that Perinçek's right to freedom
of speech was violated when he was convicted as a criminal by a Swiss
court for his claims.
Perincek, whose 2007 conviction by a Swiss court stemmed from
statements made in 2005 in Lausanne where he said the Armenian
Genocide was an `International lie,' spoke in his own defense saying
he never incited hatred toward Armenians. He claimed that his comments
at the time were in reference to the Kurds.
`We are here for the liberty of Europeans,' said Perincek. "Liberty
for those who criticise the established status quo.
`I share the pain of Armenian citizens, you cannot find a word of mine
that expresses antagonism against them. I hold the great powers
responsible for what happened in 1915. There should be no taboos for
the right to speak.'
Robertson fired back by saying Perincek specifically went to Europe to
deny the Genocide, adding that the Turkish politician was an admirer
of the Talaat Pasha, whom Robertson called the `Ottoman Empire's
Hitler.'
`It [the statement] was made by a man who only came to Switzerland in
order to be convicted. That was his purpose. He went to Germany,
France, at the end of the day he tried to go Greece to expostulate but
was turned away. He is genocide denier forum shopper. He is an
incurable genocide denier, a criminal and a vexatious litigant,' said
Robertson.
`The Armenian nation survived and overcame. It has never asked this
Court to pronounce on the sufferings it has witnessed. But nor did it
expect this Court to allow the deniers to find a safe haven in its
pronouncements, which are already used for propaganda purposes of
falsifying the history,' Armenia's Prosecutor General said in his
remarks.
Kostanyan said that Armenia's role is to point to the principles,
under which this case should be decided and to indicate the errors
that affected the lower court judgment.
`We are here to ensure that such errors are never repeated by a Court
that speaks in the name of human rights,' Kostanyan concluded.
EAFJD Welcomes the Hearing in the European Court of Human Rights
The European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy welcomed
the hearing and thanked the legal team representing Armenia for its
unwavering efforts to shed light on the truth at the international
forum.
`This is a Justice vs. Denial case, and we have confidence in the
European Court of Human Rights that they will overturn the initial
verdict, which acquitted Perinçek from any wrong doing and decided
that Switzerland was limiting his right of free speech,' said the
EAFJD in a statement issued on Wednesday after the court adjourned.
`Denial of Genocides, inciting hate and making racist comments in
Europe are not a right, are crimes and shall be punished accordingly.'
said Bedo Demirdjian, the EAFJD's Communications director, who
followed the Court hearings in Strasbourg.
`We welcome the participation of the Republic of Armenia, represented
by Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan. The International recognition
and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide is not a matter of the
Armenian Diaspora only, as some mention, willing to divide us, but
it's an all-Armenian issue and will be pursued as such,' said
Demirdjian.
`Perincek's defense tried to confuse the Court, by saying that he
doesn't refute the massacres of Armenians, acknowledges the pain
suffered, and that Turks have also been killed, thus we cannot give
the Genocide characterization. This is unacceptable to us, equating
the victim and perpetrator, and this is the official line of the
Turkish state to whitewash their crime,' said Demirdjian, and
concluded that the EAFJD and Armenians have full confidence that the
Court will issue the right and just verdict, especially this year, in
2015, when we commemorate the centennial of the Armenian Genocide.
http://asbarez.com/131212/european-human-rights-court-hears-genocide-denial-case/
Wednesday, January 28th, 2015
Representing Armenia at the European Court of Human Rights were from
left Amal Alamuddin Clooney, Geoffrey Ronald Robertson and Armenia's
Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan
EAFJD Welcomes the Hearing in the European Court of Human Rights
STRASBOURG, France'A first-rate legal team, which included renowned
human rights lawyers Geoffrey Robertson and Amal Allamudin Clooney, as
well as Armenia's Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan, represented
Armenia at the European Court of Human Rights Wednesday during an
appeals hearing on the court's ruling in 2013 in favor of a Turkish
Armenian Genocide denier, in a case that is known as Perinçek v.
Switzerland.
The case concerns the criminal conviction of DoÄ?u Perinçek, Chairman
of the Turkish Workers' Party, for publicly challenging in Switzerland
the existence of the Armenian Genocide. The government of Switzerland
has also joined the appeals process, as have two Turkish human rights
organizations that have submitted legal briefs in favor of Armenia.
Representatives of Armenian organizations from Switzerland, France,
Belgium were present, and a handful of them have provided the Court
with written notes, alongside the Human Rights Association from Turkey
and The [Turkish] Center for Truth Justice Memory, which focused on
the personality of Perincek, his nationalist, anti-Semitic,
anti-minority and anti-Armenian rhetoric, for the Court to fully
understand the entire context, something which Geoffrey Robertson
stressed `Perincek is a denialist window shopper, going from one
European country to another.'
In her arguments Clooney highlighted Turkey's hypocrisy for defending
the Right to Freedom of Speech in Europe, while at the same time Hrant
Dink is murdered in Istanbul, and the same anti-Armenian sentiments of
a 100 years ago are still alive in the country.
Clooney went on to accuse the court of being `simply wrong. It [the
court] casts doubt on the reality of Genocide that Armenian people
suffered a century ago.'
`Armenia must have its day in court,' she added. `The stakes could not
be higher for the Armenian people.'
In her presentation, Clooney pointed out Turkey's double standards on
freedom of expression, when the country has been notorious in
suppressing speech, jailing journalists and event going as far as to
ban social media platforms such as YouTube and Twitter.
`Armenia is not here to argue against freedom of expression any more
than Turkey is here to defend it. This court knows very well how
disgraceful Turkey's record on freedom of expression is,' she said.
`You have found against the Turkish government in 224 separate cases
on freedom of expression grounds.'
Clooney also made reference to Hrant Dink, who was prosecuted in
Turkey for expressing his view about the Armenian Genocide and
subsequently was gunned down by Turkish nationalists in 2007. For
eight years the Dink case lingers in Turkish courts.
`Armenia has every interest in ensuring that its own citizens do not
get caught in a net that criminalizes speech too broadly. As the
family of Hrant Dink know about all too well,' said Clooney.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=84924572&v=iKIEqHWp3PA&x-yt-ts=1422411861
Switzerland has laws against the denial of all genocide as part of its
anti-racism laws but the ECHR ruled that Perinçek's right to freedom
of speech was violated when he was convicted as a criminal by a Swiss
court for his claims.
Perincek, whose 2007 conviction by a Swiss court stemmed from
statements made in 2005 in Lausanne where he said the Armenian
Genocide was an `International lie,' spoke in his own defense saying
he never incited hatred toward Armenians. He claimed that his comments
at the time were in reference to the Kurds.
`We are here for the liberty of Europeans,' said Perincek. "Liberty
for those who criticise the established status quo.
`I share the pain of Armenian citizens, you cannot find a word of mine
that expresses antagonism against them. I hold the great powers
responsible for what happened in 1915. There should be no taboos for
the right to speak.'
Robertson fired back by saying Perincek specifically went to Europe to
deny the Genocide, adding that the Turkish politician was an admirer
of the Talaat Pasha, whom Robertson called the `Ottoman Empire's
Hitler.'
`It [the statement] was made by a man who only came to Switzerland in
order to be convicted. That was his purpose. He went to Germany,
France, at the end of the day he tried to go Greece to expostulate but
was turned away. He is genocide denier forum shopper. He is an
incurable genocide denier, a criminal and a vexatious litigant,' said
Robertson.
`The Armenian nation survived and overcame. It has never asked this
Court to pronounce on the sufferings it has witnessed. But nor did it
expect this Court to allow the deniers to find a safe haven in its
pronouncements, which are already used for propaganda purposes of
falsifying the history,' Armenia's Prosecutor General said in his
remarks.
Kostanyan said that Armenia's role is to point to the principles,
under which this case should be decided and to indicate the errors
that affected the lower court judgment.
`We are here to ensure that such errors are never repeated by a Court
that speaks in the name of human rights,' Kostanyan concluded.
EAFJD Welcomes the Hearing in the European Court of Human Rights
The European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy welcomed
the hearing and thanked the legal team representing Armenia for its
unwavering efforts to shed light on the truth at the international
forum.
`This is a Justice vs. Denial case, and we have confidence in the
European Court of Human Rights that they will overturn the initial
verdict, which acquitted Perinçek from any wrong doing and decided
that Switzerland was limiting his right of free speech,' said the
EAFJD in a statement issued on Wednesday after the court adjourned.
`Denial of Genocides, inciting hate and making racist comments in
Europe are not a right, are crimes and shall be punished accordingly.'
said Bedo Demirdjian, the EAFJD's Communications director, who
followed the Court hearings in Strasbourg.
`We welcome the participation of the Republic of Armenia, represented
by Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan. The International recognition
and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide is not a matter of the
Armenian Diaspora only, as some mention, willing to divide us, but
it's an all-Armenian issue and will be pursued as such,' said
Demirdjian.
`Perincek's defense tried to confuse the Court, by saying that he
doesn't refute the massacres of Armenians, acknowledges the pain
suffered, and that Turks have also been killed, thus we cannot give
the Genocide characterization. This is unacceptable to us, equating
the victim and perpetrator, and this is the official line of the
Turkish state to whitewash their crime,' said Demirdjian, and
concluded that the EAFJD and Armenians have full confidence that the
Court will issue the right and just verdict, especially this year, in
2015, when we commemorate the centennial of the Armenian Genocide.
http://asbarez.com/131212/european-human-rights-court-hears-genocide-denial-case/