Communicated on 9 January 2014
SECOND SECTION
Application no. 54698/13
Hüseyin KALKAN
against Turkey
lodged on 12 April 2012
STATEMENT OF FACTS
The applicant, Mr Hüseyin Kalkan, is a Turkish national, who was born in 1962 and was detained in Diyarbakır at the time he introduced his application. He is represented before the Court by Mr E. Şenses, a lawyer practising in Batman.
A. The circumstances of the case
The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows.
On 26 November 2007 the applicant, who was the mayor in Batman, gave a press conference concerning the general problems of Kurdish people.
Subsequently, criminal proceedings were brought against him by the Diyarbakır Public Prosecutor. On 27 May 2008 the Diyarbakır Assize Court found the applicant guilty of the offence of making terrorist propaganda on behalf of an illegal organisation, the PKK, under Article 7 § 2 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and sentenced him to ten months’ imprisonment.
On 28 December 2011 the Court of Cassation upheld the first-instance court’s judgment.
B. Relevant domestic law
A full description of the relevant domestic law may be found in Faruk Temel v. Turkey, no. 16853/05, §§ 26-27, 1 February 2011.
COMPLAINT
The applicant contends under Article 10 of the Convention that the institution of criminal proceedings against him for giving a press conference constitutes an unjustified interference with his right to freedom of expression.
QUESTION TO THE PARTIES
Has there been a violation of the applicant’s right to freedom of expression, in particular his right to impart information and ideas, contrary to Article 10 of the Convention (see Faruk Temel v. Turkey, no. 16853/05, 1 February 2011)?
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