ECtHR ruled that Türkiye violated freedom of expression over social media convictions

ECtHR finds Turkey violated free speech, convicting for social media posts criticizing Erdogan and supporting a Kurdish leader in 2019. Türkiye ordered to pay each applicant 2,600 euros for damages.
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The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that Türkiye violated freedom of expression by convicting two individuals for their social media posts, one supporting a Kurdish leader and the other criticizing President Erdogan in 2019.

ECtHR noted the practice of suspending judgement and highlighted the lack of appropriate and sufficient reasons for such decisions. It also noted that defendants often did not have access to legal representation or adequate time and facilities to prepare their defense adequately. The ECtHR described this problem as systemic and stated that the criminal convictions and suspended judgments had a chilling effect on freedom of expression. Accordingly, it orders Türkiye to pay each applicant 2,600 euros in non-material damages.