Armenia to Engage in Dogu Perincek Case as Third Party

YEREVAN (Armradio.am) — The Armenian Government has sent an official application to the European Court of Human Rights to engage in the Dogu Perincek case as a third party, Christine Melkonyan, Press Secretary of Armenian Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan, told Armenpress. The deadline for filing an application was August 26.

Under the provisions of the Swiss law, in 2007, Turkish citizen Perincek was convicted for denying the Armenian Genocide. Failing to win two appeals against the judgment, Perincek appealed the ECHR, which on December 17 ruled that the Swiss courts’ rulings violated the appellant’s right to freedom of expression.

The ECHR ruling in December stated that “the free exercise of the right to openly discuss questions of a sensitive and controversial nature is one of the fundamental aspects of freedom of expression and distinguishes a tolerant and pluralistic democratic society from a totalitarian or dictatorial regime.”

Switzerland’s Federal Office of Justice (FoJ) later requested to have the case of Dogu Perincek referred to the Grand Chamber for review.

The first hearing on the case is expected to take place on November 5.