Özer v. Turkey (no. 3), No. 69270/12, ECtHR (Second Section), 11 February 2020

Propaganda in favour of a terrorist organization. Arbitrary interference with freedom of expression. 

Art. 10 ECHR

In assessing whether an article constitutes propaganda in favour of a terrorist organization, national authorities must assess if it could – having regard to their content, context, and capacity to lead to harmful consequences – be considered as comprising incitement to the use of violence, armed resistance or rebellion, or as amounting to hate speech.

(Case concerning the criminal proceedings brought against the owner and editor of a Turkish magazine for having provided propaganda for a terrorist organisation (PKK, Kurdistan Workers’ Party). He complained of an infringement of his right to freedom of expression. The Court found that the Turkish judges had not carried out a thorough analysis of the published text, since the judgement had not answered the question of whether the impugned passages of the article in question could be considered as comprising incitement to the use of violence, armed resistance or rebellion, or as amounting to hate speech. Consequently, the Court found a violation of Art. 10 ECHR).