PROCEDURE

The case was referred to the Court, as established under former Article 19 of the Convention, by the European Commission of Human Rights (“the Commission”) on 17 March 1998, within the three-month period laid down by former Articles 32 § 1 and 47 of the Convention. It originated in an application (no. 23168/94) against the Republic of Turkey lodged with the Commission under former Article 25 by a Turkish national, Mr Hüseyin Karataş, on 27 August 1993. The Commission’s request referred to former Articles 44 and 48 and to the declaration whereby Turkey recognised the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court (former Article 46). The object of the request was to obtain a decision as to whether the facts of the case disclosed a breach by the respondent State of its obligations under Articles 10 and 6 § 1 of the Convention.

In response to the enquiry made in accordance with Rule 33 § 3 (d) of former Rules of Court A0, the applicant stated that he wished to take part in the proceedings and designated the lawyer who would represent him (former Rule 30). The lawyer was given leave by the President of the Court at the time, Mr R. Bernhardt, to use the Turkish language in the written procedure (former Rule 27 § 3).

As President of the Chamber which had originally been constituted (former Article 43 of the Convention and former Rule 21) in order to deal, in particular, with procedural matters that might arise before the entry into force of Protocol No. 11, Mr Bernhardt, acting through the Registrar, consulted the Agent of the Turkish Government (“the Government”), the applicant’s lawyer and the Delegate of the Commission on the organisation of the written procedure. Pursuant to the order made in consequence, the Registrar received the Government’s and the applicant’s memorials on 17 and 25 July 1998 respectively. On 8 September the Government produced documents as appendices to their memorial.

After the entry into force of Protocol No. 11 on 1 November 1998 and in accordance with the provisions of Article 5 § 5 thereof, the case was referred to the Grand Chamber of the Court. The President of the Court, Mr L. Wildhaber, decided that, in the interests of the proper administration of justice, a single Grand Chamber should be constituted to hear the instant case and twelve other cases against Turkey, namely: Arslan v. Turkey (application no. 23462/94); Polat v. Turkey (no. 23500/94); Ceylan v. Turkey (no. 23556/94); Okçuoğlu v. Turkey (no. 24246/94); Gerger v. Turkey (no. 24919/94); Erdoğdu and İnce v. Turkey (nos. 25067/94 and 25068/94); Başkaya and Okçuoğlu v. Turkey (nos. 23536/94 and 24408/94); Sürek and Özdemir v. Turkey (nos. 23927/94 and 24277/94); Sürek v. Turkey (no. 1) (no. 26682/95); Sürek v. Turkey (no. 2) (no. 24122/94); Sürek v. Turkey (no. 3) (no. 24735/94); and Sürek v. Turkey (no. 4) (no. 24762/94).

The Grand Chamber constituted for that purpose included ex officio Mr R. Türmen, the judge elected in respect of Turkey (Article 27 § 2 of the Convention and Rule 24 § 4 of the Rules of Court), Mr Wildhaber, the President of the Court, Mrs E. Palm, Vice-President of the Court, and Mr J.-P. Costa and Mr M. Fischbach, Vice-Presidents of Sections (Article 27 § 3 of the Convention and Rule 24 §§ 3 and 5 (a)). The other members appointed to complete the Grand Chamber were Mr A. Pastor Ridruejo, Mr G. Bonello, Mr J. Makarczyk, Mr P. Kūris, Mrs F. Tulkens, Mrs V. Strážnická, Mr V. Butkevych, Mr J. Casadevall, Mrs H.S. Greve, Mr A.B. Baka, Mr R. Maruste and Mrs S. Botoucharova (Rule 24 § 3 and Rule100 § 4). On 19 November 1998 Mr Wildhaber exempted Mr Türmen from sitting after his withdrawal from the case in the light of the decision of the Grand Chamber taken in accordance with Rule 28 § 4 in the case of Oğur v. Turkey . On 16 December 1998 the Government notified the Registry that Mr F. Gölcüklü had been appointed ad hoc judge (Rule 29 § 1). Subsequently Mrs Botoucharova, who was unable to take part in the further consideration of the case, was replaced by Mr K. Traja, substitute judge (Rule 24 § 5 (b)).

At the invitation of the Court (Rule 99) the Commission delegated one of its members, Mr H. Danelius, to take part in the proceedings before the Grand Chamber.

In accordance with the decision of the President, who had also given the applicant’s lawyer leave to address the Court in Turkish (Rule 34 § 3), a hearing took place in public in the Human Rights Building, Strasbourg, on 5 March 1999, the case being heard simultaneously with that of Polat v. Turkey. There appeared before the Court: (a) for the Government Mr D. Tezcan, Mr M. Özmen, Co-Agents, Mr B. Çalışkan, Ms G. Akyüz, Ms A. Günyaktı, Mr F. Polat, Ms A. Emüler, Mrs I. Batmaz Keremoğlu, Mr B. Yıldız, Mr Y. Özbek, Advisers; (b) for the applicant Ms G. Tuncer, of the Istanbul Bar, Counsel; (c) for the Commission Mr H. Danelius, Delegate. The Court heard addresses by Mr Danelius, Ms Tuncer, Mr Tezcan and Mr Özmen.

THE FACTS

I. the circumstances of the case

Mr Hüseyin Karataş is a Turk of Kurdish origin and was born in 1963. He lives in Istanbul and works as a psychologist.

In November 1991 he published an anthology of poems in Istanbul entitled “The song of a rebellion – Dersim0” (“Dersim – Bir İsyanın Türküsü”).

On 8 January 1992, the public prosecutor at the Istanbul National Security Court no. 1 (“the public prosecutor”, “the National Security Court”) accused the applicant and his publisher of disseminating propaganda against the “indivisible unity of the State”. He requested, inter alia, application of section 8 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (Law no. 3713 – see paragraph 18 below) and the confiscation of the copies of the work concerned (see paragraph 16 below). He relied on the following passages from that anthology in support of his request. “… [Freedom is the law of the clan] … a great passion is taking shape in our holy hands – the light of ancient Kurdistan for as long as by the light of day the Munzursuyu[0] is not reddened by our blood we shall not let the whelps of the Ottoman whore trample upon it after all for thousands of years we have obeyed the law freedom is the law of the clan. [In solitude, they looked at the tombstones] The heart of Dersim is torn to pieces its serpentine streets explosions of dynamite the noise of excavators the soldiers’ boots … a phial of medicine in one hand of poison in the other the towers of Babel in others the Turks are coming with their schools their language in which we know only too well the word for cruelty … in the corridors of Parliament in the galleries in the garrisons they are preparing genocide like those who know no bounds … On the head of Hızır[0], my brave one we have never seen nor heard anything like this I ask you, brother, what Scripture would accept such cruelty? … [Silently, they looked towards the village of Deşt] … and now cruelty is spreading apace our blood will mix with the blood shed. resistance and betrayal freedom and surrender side by side … have we not accepted as law for thousands of years that blood shall be washed in blood? … [In their solitude their tears fell to the ground] … thousands of years of disasters have not altered our lives for our Kurdistan for our Dersim we will sacrifice our heads, drunk on the fire of rebellion … [In solitude, they oiled the guns and rifles] … let us go children of the unyielding we have heard there is a rebellion in the mountains can we hear and do nothing? let the festivities and celebrations begin let flames as high as the rooftops reach for the sky so that before the day’s end the cannons fall silent venerable Kurdistan beautiful Kurdistan Kurdistan our friend … [They marched towards the laws to be brothers] … for thousands of years, companion, we have been the close acquaintance of the most barbaric cruelties I ask you out of love for the age in which you live how much longer will we put up with this cruelty? … to the majestic mountains that will lead us to freedom … [Snowy are the mountains] … the whelps of the Ottoman whore repeatedly pound our mountains the waters that run our springtime … they are preparing genocide like those who know no bounds. … for thousands of years, our clan has been under siege in our besieged land … [The mountains before us have voices of snow] … an unbounded anger in my heart a speechless hatred … the laws do not give way rebellion comes from the mountains the millennia of history some have died for her some march to their deaths. [They marched towards solitude] … those who were but a handful of brave men the hope and resistance of their blessed bodies they have, piece by piece, adorned freedom those who, before us, marched to their deaths … Young Kurds ‘I am seventy-five years old I die a martyr I join the martyrs of Kurdistan Dersim has been defeated but Kurdism and Kurdistan shall live on the young Kurd shall take vengeance’ when life leaves this body my heart shall not cry out What happiness to live this day to join the martyrs of Kurdistan. … [Alişer is dead too] … we have lived for centuries without a State, in exile, during massacres for centuries along the paths we have hauled behind us a sword but never have we been conquered by the sword … the venerable Sheikh Alişer of Hasanan[0] was brave enough to know how to die for his honour, his homeland and his freedom … how can I narrate to those who will come after us all that is brave and heroic impregnating my whole body with courage. … I invite you to freedom, to death in these mountains, in this sacred spring with death we march, freedom is blessed with death, I invite you to die; – time is wounded like the beat of a heart. … [Exile] … Garrisons garrison schools kids women … valiant youths songs of revenge mothers of children hand-to-hand side by side surrender and resistance and the dignity and the honour and the pride of the Kurd become by the vows of the Mazlum Doğans[0] of the Ali Haydar Yıldızes of the Hayri Durmuşes of the Delil Doğans little by little drop by drop a secret rebellion.”

The applicant denied the charges before the National Security Court, asserting, in particular, that the passage in inverted commas (see paragraph 10 above) was a quotation which in no way reflected his own opinions.

On 22 February 1993 the National Security Court, composed of three judges, including a military judge, found the applicant guilty of the offences charged and sentenced him under section 8(1) of Law no. 3713 to one year and eight months’ imprisonment and a fine of 41,666,666 Turkish liras (TRL), to be paid in ten monthly instalments. It also ordered confiscation of the publications concerned. The National Security Court entirely accepted the submissions of the public prosecutor and found, inter alia, that the poems in issue referred to a particular region of Turkey as “Kurdistan” and had glorified the insurrectionary movements in that region by identifying them with the Kurds’ fight for national independence. In the National Security Court’s view, the expression of praise apparent throughout the work amounted to separatist propaganda that was detrimental to the unity of the Turkish nation and the territorial integrity of the Turkish State and justified Mr Karataş’s conviction.

In a judgment of 1 July 1993, the Court of Cassation dismissed an appeal by the applicant. The applicant’s subsequent application to the same court for rectification of the judgment was also unsuccessful.

On 30 October 1995 Law no. 4126 of 27 October 1995 came into force. Inter alia, it reduced the length of prison sentences that could be imposed under section 8 of Law no. 3713 while increasing the level of fines (see paragraph 18 below). In a transitional provision relating to section 2, Law no. 4126 provided that sentences imposed pursuant to section 8 of Law no. 3713 would be automatically reviewed (see paragraph 19 below).

Consequently, the National Security Court reviewed the applicant’s case on the merits. In a judgment of 19 April 1996, it reduced Mr Karataş’s prison sentence to one year, one month and ten days but increased the fine to TRL 111,111,110. On an appeal by the applicant, the Court of Cassation upheld that decision on 1 December 1997. Mr Karataş was at that time still serving his sentence in Ümraniye Prison (Istanbul).