European Court confirms Perinçek’s right to freedom of speech

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that Switzerland violated Turkish politician Doğu Perinçek's right to freedom of speech. He had appealed against a conviction for racism after having denied the mass killing of Armenians. In a first reaction, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice issued a statement on Thursday saying the court’s decision “confirms the great importance that the ECHR attaches to freedom of expression”, and that a “thorough analysis of the comprehensive judgment” is needed before it is clear whether the decision will spur reforms to Swiss anti-racism law. The 10:7 majority decision of the 17-judge ECHR Grand Chamber is final, and puts to rest a string of legal decisions and appeals in the case of Perinçek vs Switzerland dating back to 2007. Perinçek, chairman of the Turkish Patriotic Party, first made headlines in 2005 when he stated during three separate public events in Switzerland that the deaths of between 800,000 and 1,800,000 ...