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TIME Magazine
Jan 29 2015
Watch Amal Clooney Eloquently Argue Her Case in Armenian Genocide Hearing
by Noah Rayman
Clooney is representing Armenia before Europe's top human rights court
Amal Clooney laid her case before the European Court of Human Rights
on Wednesday against a Turkish politician who denied the 1915 Armenian
genocide.
The international human rights lawyer is representing Armenia in a
case against Dogu Perincek, the chairman of the Turkish Workers'
Party, who was convicted in Switzerland in 2005 for calling the
Armenian genocide an "international lie."
The Strasbourg-based ECHR later agreed with Perincek that the
conviction violated his freedom of expression, and now Switzerland is
appealing, with Armenia's backing as a third party.
"The most important error" made in the earlier ECHR ruling, Clooney
said, "is that it cast doubt on the reality of the Armenian genocide
that the people suffered 100 years ago." In her remarks, Clooney noted
Turkey's "disgraceful" record on freedom of expression.
An estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks in
what historians widely consider to be the first genocide of the 20th
century, but Turkey has contested the numbers and refused to call it a
genocide.
The case could also have wider implications for Europe, where several
countries have laws prohibiting public denial of past genocides such
as the Holocaust.
Clooney, now arguably the most famous human rights lawyer in the world
after marrying actor George Clooney in September, previously
represented Greece in its long-running bid to have a collection of
classical Greek sculptures returned from the British Museum. She also
defended one of three al-Jazeera journalists detained in Egypt.
View the speech at
http://time.com/3687958/amal-clooney-turkey-armenian-genocide/
Jan 29 2015
Watch Amal Clooney Eloquently Argue Her Case in Armenian Genocide Hearing
by Noah Rayman
Clooney is representing Armenia before Europe's top human rights court
Amal Clooney laid her case before the European Court of Human Rights
on Wednesday against a Turkish politician who denied the 1915 Armenian
genocide.
The international human rights lawyer is representing Armenia in a
case against Dogu Perincek, the chairman of the Turkish Workers'
Party, who was convicted in Switzerland in 2005 for calling the
Armenian genocide an "international lie."
The Strasbourg-based ECHR later agreed with Perincek that the
conviction violated his freedom of expression, and now Switzerland is
appealing, with Armenia's backing as a third party.
"The most important error" made in the earlier ECHR ruling, Clooney
said, "is that it cast doubt on the reality of the Armenian genocide
that the people suffered 100 years ago." In her remarks, Clooney noted
Turkey's "disgraceful" record on freedom of expression.
An estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks in
what historians widely consider to be the first genocide of the 20th
century, but Turkey has contested the numbers and refused to call it a
genocide.
The case could also have wider implications for Europe, where several
countries have laws prohibiting public denial of past genocides such
as the Holocaust.
Clooney, now arguably the most famous human rights lawyer in the world
after marrying actor George Clooney in September, previously
represented Greece in its long-running bid to have a collection of
classical Greek sculptures returned from the British Museum. She also
defended one of three al-Jazeera journalists detained in Egypt.
View the speech at
http://time.com/3687958/amal-clooney-turkey-armenian-genocide/