STRASBOURG–France (Reuters)–The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday ruled against Turkey in two different cases involving Kurdish separatists and freedom of expression.
In the first case–the court awarded 250,000 fran’s ($41,900) in damages to Kurdish journalist Salih Tekin of the daily Ozgur Gundem–who was arrested and allegedly tortured by police in 1993.
The Turkish government denied mistreating the 34-year-old reporter but the court said the facts had been established "beyond reasonable doubt."
The court–an arm of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe–also faulted Ankara for failing to carry out an in-depth investigation of Tekin’s allegations when he filed suit against the authorities.
In the second case–the court awarded 30,000 fran’s in damages to Kurdish activist Ibrahim Incal–45–who was fined and sentenced to six months in prison in 1993 for trying to distribute political tracts.
Incal had been hauled before a military tribunal and convicted on charges of inciting hate. The court condemned the Turkish justice system for both the choice of court and the conviction.