@misc{4227441,
  abstract     = {{On 17 December 2013 the European Court of Human Rights ruled by five votes to two that Switzerland violated the right to freedom of expression by convicting Doğu Perinçek, chairman of the Turkish Workers’ Party, for publicly denying the existence of the genocide against the Armenian people. On several occasions, Perinçek had described the Armenian genocide as “an international lie”. The Swiss courts found Perinçek guilty of racial discrimination within the meaning of Article 261bis of the Swiss Criminal Code. This article punishes inter alia the denial, gross minimisation or attempt of justification of a genocide or crimes against humanity, publicly expressed with the aim of lowering or discriminating against a person or a group of persons by reference to race, ethnic background or religion in a way that affects the human dignity of the person or group of persons concerned. According to the Swiss courts, the Armenian genocide, like the Jewish genocide, was a proven historical fact, recognised by the Swiss Parliament. They found that Perinçek’s motives denying that the Ottoman Empire had perpetrated the crime of genocide against the Armenian people in 1915 and the following years, were of a racist tendency and did not contribute to the historical debate. Relying on Article 10 of the European Convention, Perinçek complained before the Strasbourg Court that the Swiss authorities had breached his freedom of expression. In an impressive judgment of 80 pages, only available in French for the moment, the Court elaborates the issue profoundly. The judgment also contains in annex, on 18 pages, a firm and extensively documented dissenting opinion by two judges. Analysis, summary and comment}},
  author       = {{Voorhoof, Dirk}},
  keywords     = {{hate speech,freedom of expression,incitement,Denial of genocide,abuse clause,margin of appreciation,Holocaust denial,HRC}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{9}},
  publisher    = {{ECHR Blog}},
  title        = {{Criminal conviction for denying the existence of the Armenian 'genocide' violates freedom of expression}},
  url          = {{http://strasbourgobservers.com/2014/01/08/criminal-conviction-for-denying-the-existence-of-the-armenian-genocide-violates-freedom-of-expression/}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}