Gündüz v. Turkey, No. 35071/97, ECtHR (First Section), 4 December 2003

Conviction of a leader of an Islamic sect for defending Sharia law during a television programme. Unlawful interference with freedom of expression.

Art. 10 ECHR

Expressions capable of propagating, inciting or justifying hatred based on intolerance, including religious intolerance, fall outside the scope of protection guaranteed by Article 10 ECHR. However, merely defending the Shariah, without calling for the use of violence to establish it, could not be regarded as a hypothesis of hate speech. (In the instant case, the applicant, who was a leader of an Islamic sect (Tarikat Aczmendi), was convicted for incitement to hatred based on religious intolerance. Specifically, he called for the introduction of the Shariah during a televised debate, while also openly criticizing democratic values and institutions. Since the television programme sought to inform the public about a matter of general interest in Turkey and considering that the applicant’s views were expressed in the course of a pluralistic debate, the Court evaluated that the interference with the applicant's freedom of expression was not “necessary in a democratic society”. It found a violation of Article 10 ECHR).