Armenian News... Geoffrey Robertson QC's masterly speech to the EHCR in the case of Perincek v Switzerland
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=62dDR-K6KpY
[Perincek claims he is defending European rights to free speech1]
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Jan 26 2015
Turkey's Worker's Party chair says he is confident of ECHR
Jan 26 2015
Turkey's Worker's Party chair says he is confident of ECHR
ruling on 1915 incidents claims
Turkey's Workers' Party (Ä°P) Chairman DoÄ?u Perinçek, who is being
tried at the European Court of Human Rights' (ECHR) Grand Chamber for
publicly denying that the Ottoman Empire committed genocide against
Ottoman Armenians in 1915, has said he is confident that the ruling
will be in his favor.
Speaking at Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen Airport en route to Strasbourg
for the court hearing, Perinçek said it was "difficult to make just
decisions where prejudices prevail," but added that he still awaited a
positive result.
`The second chamber of the ECHR made a bold decision on Dec. 17, 2013.
Now we are waiting for the same from the Grand Chamber. We are
confident because we are right,' he added.
A national court verdict in Switzerland in 2007 resulted in the case
being brought to the ECHR. Perinçek was found guilty by a Swiss court
on March 9, 2007 after his participation in a number of conferences in
Switzerland in 2005, during which he publicly denied that the Ottoman
Empire had committed the crime of genocide against Ottoman Armenians.
Denying that the killings amounted to genocide is a criminal offense
in Switzerland.
According to Armenians, up to 1.5 million Ottoman Armenians were
killed starting from 1915 in a systematic campaign. Turkey denies that
the deaths amounted to genocide, saying the toll during the mass
deportation of Ottoman Armenians has been inflated and that those
killed in 1915 and 1916 were victims of general unrest during World
War I.
Perinçek had complained to the ECHR that Swiss courts had breached his
right to freedom of expression. The ECHR ruled on Dec. 17, 2013 that
his statements in Switzerland fell within the limits of freedom of
expression.
The ECHR ruling stated that `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 objected to the judgment, after which the case was taken
to the ECHR's Grand Chamber for the final verdict. The Grand Chamber
approved the inclusion of the state of Armenia as a third party
litigant in the case in September.
The case came to the world's attention with news that Amal Clooney,
the prominent British-Lebanese lawyer and wife of Hollywood celebrity
George Clooney, would be one of the attorneys representing Armenia in
the case.
RFE/RL Report
Turkey's Workers' Party (Ä°P) Chairman DoÄ?u Perinçek, who is being
tried at the European Court of Human Rights' (ECHR) Grand Chamber for
publicly denying that the Ottoman Empire committed genocide against
Ottoman Armenians in 1915, has said he is confident that the ruling
will be in his favor.
Speaking at Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen Airport en route to Strasbourg
for the court hearing, Perinçek said it was "difficult to make just
decisions where prejudices prevail," but added that he still awaited a
positive result.
`The second chamber of the ECHR made a bold decision on Dec. 17, 2013.
Now we are waiting for the same from the Grand Chamber. We are
confident because we are right,' he added.
A national court verdict in Switzerland in 2007 resulted in the case
being brought to the ECHR. Perinçek was found guilty by a Swiss court
on March 9, 2007 after his participation in a number of conferences in
Switzerland in 2005, during which he publicly denied that the Ottoman
Empire had committed the crime of genocide against Ottoman Armenians.
Denying that the killings amounted to genocide is a criminal offense
in Switzerland.
According to Armenians, up to 1.5 million Ottoman Armenians were
killed starting from 1915 in a systematic campaign. Turkey denies that
the deaths amounted to genocide, saying the toll during the mass
deportation of Ottoman Armenians has been inflated and that those
killed in 1915 and 1916 were victims of general unrest during World
War I.
Perinçek had complained to the ECHR that Swiss courts had breached his
right to freedom of expression. The ECHR ruled on Dec. 17, 2013 that
his statements in Switzerland fell within the limits of freedom of
expression.
The ECHR ruling stated that `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 objected to the judgment, after which the case was taken
to the ECHR's Grand Chamber for the final verdict. The Grand Chamber
approved the inclusion of the state of Armenia as a third party
litigant in the case in September.
The case came to the world's attention with news that Amal Clooney,
the prominent British-Lebanese lawyer and wife of Hollywood celebrity
George Clooney, would be one of the attorneys representing Armenia in
the case.
RFE/RL Report
European Court Opens Hearings On Armenian Genocide Case
Emil Danielyan
28.01.2015
Amal Clooney, a world-famous lawyer, urged the European Court of Human
Rights (ECHR) not to give the green light to public denial of the 1915
Armenian genocide on Wednesday as she represented Armenia in a
high-profile case involving a controversial Turkish politician.
Clooney pointed to "overwhelming evidence" of the World War One-era
slaughter of some 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks at the
start of hearings in Strasbourg on an appeal lodged by Switzerland and
backed by Armenia.
The case stems from a 2007 Swiss court ruling against Dogu Perincek,
the leader of a small Turkish nationalist party who branded the
Armenian genocide an "international life" during a lecture tour in
Switzerland. Perincek was fined by the court in line with a Swiss
anti-racism law that bans any act of denying, belittling or justifying
genocide. The ruling was upheld by the Swiss Federal Court.
Acting on an appeal filed by Perincek, the ECHR ruled in December 2013
that the Swiss verdicts violated an article of the European Convention
on Human Rights that guarantees freedom of expression. It also said
that there is no "general consensus" that the mass killings and
deportations of Armenians constituted genocide.
Switzerland's Federal Office of Justice responded by asking the
Strasbourg court's Grand Chamber to review the case. The Armenian
government welcomed the move, saying that it will act as a third party
in the hearings on the Swiss appeal.
Armenia's Prosecutor-General Gevorg Kostanian is personally
representing the government in the case along with an international
legal team comprising Clooney and Geoffrey Robertson, a
British-Australian attorney and academic.
"It is an honor to appear before you today on behalf of the government
of Armenia," Clooney told a panel of senior ECHR judges in her opening
remarks broadcast live on the Internet. "The stakes could not be
higher for the Armenian people," she said.
The Lebanese-born attorney, who married Hollywood film star George
Clooney in September, deplored the 2013 Strasbourg court verdict,
saying that it "cast doubt on the reality of genocide that Armenian
people suffered a century ago."
"The court did not explain why it was overruling the Swiss court,
which had heard and examined 90 kilograms of evidence on the
matter. Instead, the lower court reached its conclusions that the
genocide was not proved or even provable without using any of the
fact-gathering tools that were available to it," she said before
listing some of the well-known facts about the genocidal character of
the 1915 massacres.
"Armenia is not here to argue against freedom of expression any more
than Turkey is here to defend it," Amal Clooney went on. "This court
knows very well how disgraceful Turkey's record on free expression
is. You have found against the Turkish government in 224 separate
cases on freedom of expression grounds."
Perincek, meanwhile, remained adamant in denying a premeditated
government effort to exterminate the Ottoman Empire's Armenian
population. He said that making a public expression of his views,
which essentially reflect the official Turkish version of events, a
crime would deal a serious blow to free speech. Perincek, 72, also
insisted that he did not mean to offend Armenians.
Robertson brushed aside these assurances, calling the Turkish
politician an "incurable genocide denier." Britain's "The Daily
Telegraph" newspaper quoted Robertson as saying that Perincek
deliberately travelled across Europe in order to provoke a conviction
for genocide denial and "arouse his supporters in Turkey."
The landmark case is being closely watched in both Turkey and Armenia,
coming ahead of the 100th anniversary of the genocide to be marked in
April. According to "Hurriyet Daily News," several prominent Turkish
politicians, including former European Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis,
travelled to Strasbourg to attend the hearings. Large groups of
Armenians and Turks staged rival demonstrations outside the court
building during the proceedings.
The Times (London), UK
Jan 28 2015
Honeymoon is over as Mrs Clooney makes genocide denial
appeal in Strasbourg
by Frances Gibb, Legal Editor
Amal Clooney will make her first court appearance today since her
highly publicised wedding when she appeals on behalf of Armenia in a
case over denial of the country's genocide 100 years ago.
The UK-based barrister is bringing an appeal in the European Court of
Human Rights in Strasbourg that seeks to "put the record straight"
after Dogu Perincek, the Turkish opposition Labour Party leader, was
cleared of genocide denial charges.
Perincek, who will attend today 's hearing before the court's grand
chamber, was found guilty by a Swiss court in 2007 after he made a
speech calling the Armenian genocide of 100 years ago "an
international lie" during an event in Lausanne, Switzerland.
However in 2013, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Swiss
legislation criminalising the denial of genocide violated the right to
freedom of expression.
The court granted leave to appeal to its grand chamber, however, and
today Amal Clooney, with Geoffrey Robertson, QC, the head of Doughty
Street, her London chambers, will argue that the original ruling by
the Strasbourg court was wrong.
Mrs Clooney will tell the Strasbourg judges: "The most important error
in the court's judgment is that it has cast doubt on the fact that
there was a genocide against the Armenian people 100 years ago.
"The court did not explain why it was overruling the Swiss courts,
which heard and examined evidence on the matter," she will say.
"Instead the lower court reached its conclusions without using any of
the fact-gathering tools available to it."
The court, she will argue, did not request documentary evidence,
examine witnesses, call experts nor conduct on-site investigations."
She will ask the court for the opportunity to submit "overwhelming"
evidence that systemic atrocities occurred that would now be
characterised as genocide.
Mrs Clooney, who is also advising the Greek government on the return
of the Elgin marbles, will tell the court that contemporaneous
photographs show death marches and concentration camps where
"thousands of Armenians perished".
Images depict beheadings, burnt bodies, railway carriages packed with
Armenians heading east into the desert and the Euphrates river filled
with blood, she will say. There are also scores of witness accounts
from journalists and a "mass" of diplomatic cables sent from
ambassadors back to their capitals and now in state archives.
In a joint statement issued on May 1915 , France, Great Britain and
Russian denounced the "crimes of Turkey against humanity and
civilisation". Only Turkey has denied the genocide, she will argue.
The Strasbourg court's ruling last year contained errors that caused
Perincek and his supporters to celebrate it as a vindication of their
anti-Armenian views, she will argue - adding that some parts of the
judgment "harm the court's credibility and dishonour the memory of
those who perished in the Ottoman empire a century ago".
"We hope that the Grand Chamber will set the record straight."
Mr Robertson, who is leading the appeal, will say that Article 10,
that guarantees freedom of expression, is the European Convention's
way of saying "Je suis Charlie" - in that it permits the exchange of
information, criticism and satire, however offensive.
The European ruling last year promotes the idea that the "Holocaust is
the only 'real genocide', with others forever relegated to the realms
of theory and debate.
"What matters to Armenians, to Jews, to Bosnians or to Rwandan Tutsis
is not the manner of their deaths, or whether an international court
has convicted the perpetrators, but the fact that they were targeted
as unfit to live because they were Jews or Armenians or Tutsis."
The Armenite
Amal Clooney: Turkey’s PR Nightmare
byWillian Bairamian
28 January 2015
Amal Clooney is representing Armenia in the case of Perincek v. Switzerland , where Turkish citizen Dogu Perincek, a member of a group called the Talaat Pasha Committee, is accused of denying the Armenian Genocide at a conference in Switzerland by calling it an “international lie.” Clooney’s presence on the legal team has produced a flurry of media coverage that would have been unimaginable for a genocide denial case at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that involved Perincek, a veritable nobody. This has created a publicity nightmare for Turkey, which has spent millions of dollars on public relations firms in the United States and abroad to promote Armenian Genocide denial.
Now, rather than being relegated to the annals of media blips and nonstarters, the Perincek v. Switzerland case has generated widespread media coverage about the Armenian Genocide and its denial from the most unlikely sources including BuzzFeed , Cosmpolitan , People , Elle , Harper’s Bazaar , Entertainment Tonight , Access Hollywood , and even from ribald celebrity gossip blog Perez Hilton. When we last checked, the BuzzFeed article alone had been viewed almost 200,000 times.
And it’s all Turkey’s fault.
In case you were wondering what Turkey and Armenia have to do with a case that’s not between Turkey and Armenia, the European Convention on Human Rights, the founding document of the ECHR, allows third-parties to submit comment and “take part in hearings” on behalf of their nationals during cases before the court’s Grand Chamber. Perhaps seeing it as an opportunity to gain the upper hand in its self-imposed Sisyphean genocide denial exercise, Turkey applied to the court to become party to the hearing of its citizen on trial for denying the Armenian Genocide – and was approved.
In light of the court’s approval to allow Turkey to participate, Armenia’s prosecutor-general, Gevorg Kostanyan, announced last July that Armenia, too, would apply to be party to the case, referencing another allowance of the Convention. Armenia was given permission to participate, joined by France and eight other applicants who were allowed to provide comment on the side of Switzerland.
In a brilliant move, Armenia, represented by Kostanyan and deputy minister of justice, Emil Babayan, assembled a legal team including Clooney and famed human rights lawyer, Geoffrey Robertson. The cachet of two powerhouse human rights attorneys aside, Clooney brought with her the corps of paparazzi that follow her every move. An ill-advised question by one of them about what designer’s clothes she was wearing spawned even more coverage, especially in fashion publications, mostly deriding the paparazzo for asking such an inane question to a woman arguing a case about genocide denial standing before a high court.
The story was also covered by media outlets you would expect like Time , Huffington Post , the UK’s Independent , and the New York Post , although they nevertheless seemed more interested in Clooney’s presence than in the landmark case. One exception is the The Telegraph, which can be credited with using the Clooney-induced frenzy to provide a comprehensive look at why Turkey denies the Genocide. Whatever story they wrote, though, almost every outlet that covered the event discussed Turkey’s genocide denial.
In what they must have expected was a prime chance to lodge a rare victory, Turkey needlessly involved itself in the case, expended government resources, and seemingly misjudged Armenia’s ability to outmaneuver it. And the result, thus far, is that Turkey now has more humanitarian crime-flavored egg on its face than usual. When it’s done denying the Genocide at the European Court of Human Rights, Turkey may want to jump on the phone with one of those PR firms – it’s going to need them.
International Business Times
Jan 28 2015
Amal Clooney Armenian Genocide Case:
Emil Danielyan
28.01.2015
Amal Clooney, a world-famous lawyer, urged the European Court of Human
Rights (ECHR) not to give the green light to public denial of the 1915
Armenian genocide on Wednesday as she represented Armenia in a
high-profile case involving a controversial Turkish politician.
Clooney pointed to "overwhelming evidence" of the World War One-era
slaughter of some 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks at the
start of hearings in Strasbourg on an appeal lodged by Switzerland and
backed by Armenia.
The case stems from a 2007 Swiss court ruling against Dogu Perincek,
the leader of a small Turkish nationalist party who branded the
Armenian genocide an "international life" during a lecture tour in
Switzerland. Perincek was fined by the court in line with a Swiss
anti-racism law that bans any act of denying, belittling or justifying
genocide. The ruling was upheld by the Swiss Federal Court.
Acting on an appeal filed by Perincek, the ECHR ruled in December 2013
that the Swiss verdicts violated an article of the European Convention
on Human Rights that guarantees freedom of expression. It also said
that there is no "general consensus" that the mass killings and
deportations of Armenians constituted genocide.
Switzerland's Federal Office of Justice responded by asking the
Strasbourg court's Grand Chamber to review the case. The Armenian
government welcomed the move, saying that it will act as a third party
in the hearings on the Swiss appeal.
Armenia's Prosecutor-General Gevorg Kostanian is personally
representing the government in the case along with an international
legal team comprising Clooney and Geoffrey Robertson, a
British-Australian attorney and academic.
"It is an honor to appear before you today on behalf of the government
of Armenia," Clooney told a panel of senior ECHR judges in her opening
remarks broadcast live on the Internet. "The stakes could not be
higher for the Armenian people," she said.
The Lebanese-born attorney, who married Hollywood film star George
Clooney in September, deplored the 2013 Strasbourg court verdict,
saying that it "cast doubt on the reality of genocide that Armenian
people suffered a century ago."
"The court did not explain why it was overruling the Swiss court,
which had heard and examined 90 kilograms of evidence on the
matter. Instead, the lower court reached its conclusions that the
genocide was not proved or even provable without using any of the
fact-gathering tools that were available to it," she said before
listing some of the well-known facts about the genocidal character of
the 1915 massacres.
"Armenia is not here to argue against freedom of expression any more
than Turkey is here to defend it," Amal Clooney went on. "This court
knows very well how disgraceful Turkey's record on free expression
is. You have found against the Turkish government in 224 separate
cases on freedom of expression grounds."
Perincek, meanwhile, remained adamant in denying a premeditated
government effort to exterminate the Ottoman Empire's Armenian
population. He said that making a public expression of his views,
which essentially reflect the official Turkish version of events, a
crime would deal a serious blow to free speech. Perincek, 72, also
insisted that he did not mean to offend Armenians.
Robertson brushed aside these assurances, calling the Turkish
politician an "incurable genocide denier." Britain's "The Daily
Telegraph" newspaper quoted Robertson as saying that Perincek
deliberately travelled across Europe in order to provoke a conviction
for genocide denial and "arouse his supporters in Turkey."
The landmark case is being closely watched in both Turkey and Armenia,
coming ahead of the 100th anniversary of the genocide to be marked in
April. According to "Hurriyet Daily News," several prominent Turkish
politicians, including former European Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis,
travelled to Strasbourg to attend the hearings. Large groups of
Armenians and Turks staged rival demonstrations outside the court
building during the proceedings.
The Times (London), UK
Jan 28 2015
Honeymoon is over as Mrs Clooney makes genocide denial
appeal in Strasbourg
by Frances Gibb, Legal Editor
Amal Clooney will make her first court appearance today since her
highly publicised wedding when she appeals on behalf of Armenia in a
case over denial of the country's genocide 100 years ago.
The UK-based barrister is bringing an appeal in the European Court of
Human Rights in Strasbourg that seeks to "put the record straight"
after Dogu Perincek, the Turkish opposition Labour Party leader, was
cleared of genocide denial charges.
Perincek, who will attend today 's hearing before the court's grand
chamber, was found guilty by a Swiss court in 2007 after he made a
speech calling the Armenian genocide of 100 years ago "an
international lie" during an event in Lausanne, Switzerland.
However in 2013, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Swiss
legislation criminalising the denial of genocide violated the right to
freedom of expression.
The court granted leave to appeal to its grand chamber, however, and
today Amal Clooney, with Geoffrey Robertson, QC, the head of Doughty
Street, her London chambers, will argue that the original ruling by
the Strasbourg court was wrong.
Mrs Clooney will tell the Strasbourg judges: "The most important error
in the court's judgment is that it has cast doubt on the fact that
there was a genocide against the Armenian people 100 years ago.
"The court did not explain why it was overruling the Swiss courts,
which heard and examined evidence on the matter," she will say.
"Instead the lower court reached its conclusions without using any of
the fact-gathering tools available to it."
The court, she will argue, did not request documentary evidence,
examine witnesses, call experts nor conduct on-site investigations."
She will ask the court for the opportunity to submit "overwhelming"
evidence that systemic atrocities occurred that would now be
characterised as genocide.
Mrs Clooney, who is also advising the Greek government on the return
of the Elgin marbles, will tell the court that contemporaneous
photographs show death marches and concentration camps where
"thousands of Armenians perished".
Images depict beheadings, burnt bodies, railway carriages packed with
Armenians heading east into the desert and the Euphrates river filled
with blood, she will say. There are also scores of witness accounts
from journalists and a "mass" of diplomatic cables sent from
ambassadors back to their capitals and now in state archives.
In a joint statement issued on May 1915 , France, Great Britain and
Russian denounced the "crimes of Turkey against humanity and
civilisation". Only Turkey has denied the genocide, she will argue.
The Strasbourg court's ruling last year contained errors that caused
Perincek and his supporters to celebrate it as a vindication of their
anti-Armenian views, she will argue - adding that some parts of the
judgment "harm the court's credibility and dishonour the memory of
those who perished in the Ottoman empire a century ago".
"We hope that the Grand Chamber will set the record straight."
Mr Robertson, who is leading the appeal, will say that Article 10,
that guarantees freedom of expression, is the European Convention's
way of saying "Je suis Charlie" - in that it permits the exchange of
information, criticism and satire, however offensive.
The European ruling last year promotes the idea that the "Holocaust is
the only 'real genocide', with others forever relegated to the realms
of theory and debate.
"What matters to Armenians, to Jews, to Bosnians or to Rwandan Tutsis
is not the manner of their deaths, or whether an international court
has convicted the perpetrators, but the fact that they were targeted
as unfit to live because they were Jews or Armenians or Tutsis."
The Armenite
Amal Clooney: Turkey’s PR Nightmare
byWillian Bairamian
28 January 2015
Amal Clooney is representing Armenia in the case of Perincek v. Switzerland , where Turkish citizen Dogu Perincek, a member of a group called the Talaat Pasha Committee, is accused of denying the Armenian Genocide at a conference in Switzerland by calling it an “international lie.” Clooney’s presence on the legal team has produced a flurry of media coverage that would have been unimaginable for a genocide denial case at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that involved Perincek, a veritable nobody. This has created a publicity nightmare for Turkey, which has spent millions of dollars on public relations firms in the United States and abroad to promote Armenian Genocide denial.
Now, rather than being relegated to the annals of media blips and nonstarters, the Perincek v. Switzerland case has generated widespread media coverage about the Armenian Genocide and its denial from the most unlikely sources including BuzzFeed , Cosmpolitan , People , Elle , Harper’s Bazaar , Entertainment Tonight , Access Hollywood , and even from ribald celebrity gossip blog Perez Hilton. When we last checked, the BuzzFeed article alone had been viewed almost 200,000 times.
And it’s all Turkey’s fault.
In case you were wondering what Turkey and Armenia have to do with a case that’s not between Turkey and Armenia, the European Convention on Human Rights, the founding document of the ECHR, allows third-parties to submit comment and “take part in hearings” on behalf of their nationals during cases before the court’s Grand Chamber. Perhaps seeing it as an opportunity to gain the upper hand in its self-imposed Sisyphean genocide denial exercise, Turkey applied to the court to become party to the hearing of its citizen on trial for denying the Armenian Genocide – and was approved.
In light of the court’s approval to allow Turkey to participate, Armenia’s prosecutor-general, Gevorg Kostanyan, announced last July that Armenia, too, would apply to be party to the case, referencing another allowance of the Convention. Armenia was given permission to participate, joined by France and eight other applicants who were allowed to provide comment on the side of Switzerland.
In a brilliant move, Armenia, represented by Kostanyan and deputy minister of justice, Emil Babayan, assembled a legal team including Clooney and famed human rights lawyer, Geoffrey Robertson. The cachet of two powerhouse human rights attorneys aside, Clooney brought with her the corps of paparazzi that follow her every move. An ill-advised question by one of them about what designer’s clothes she was wearing spawned even more coverage, especially in fashion publications, mostly deriding the paparazzo for asking such an inane question to a woman arguing a case about genocide denial standing before a high court.
The story was also covered by media outlets you would expect like Time , Huffington Post , the UK’s Independent , and the New York Post , although they nevertheless seemed more interested in Clooney’s presence than in the landmark case. One exception is the The Telegraph, which can be credited with using the Clooney-induced frenzy to provide a comprehensive look at why Turkey denies the Genocide. Whatever story they wrote, though, almost every outlet that covered the event discussed Turkey’s genocide denial.
In what they must have expected was a prime chance to lodge a rare victory, Turkey needlessly involved itself in the case, expended government resources, and seemingly misjudged Armenia’s ability to outmaneuver it. And the result, thus far, is that Turkey now has more humanitarian crime-flavored egg on its face than usual. When it’s done denying the Genocide at the European Court of Human Rights, Turkey may want to jump on the phone with one of those PR firms – it’s going to need them.
International Business Times
Jan 28 2015
Amal Clooney Armenian Genocide Case:
5 Things To Know About DoÄ?u
Perinçek Hearing
By Julia Glum
High-profile human rights lawyer Amal Clooney went up against DoÄ?u
Perinçek Wednesday in a France court hearing involving the racial
discrimination case of the Turkish Workers' Party chairman who claimed
the Armenian genocide never happened. Here are five things you need to
know about the hearing:
1. The players: Clooney and Geoffrey Robertson represented Armenia on
behalf of Doughty Street Chambers, the British law firm they work for.
"Armenia must have its day in court. The stakes could not be higher
for the Armenian people," Clooney said, according to the Telegraph.
The case revolved around Perinçek, who was convicted in 2007 for
denying the Armenian genocide. The European Court of Human Rights
overturned that conviction in December on grounds that his right to
free speech was violated, and Armenia filed an appeal. Turkey was a
co-defendant in the case.
2. The background: As many as 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands
of the Ottoman Turks from 1915 to 1923, the Associated Press reported.
Turkey has argued that the death toll was not only exaggerated but
also a result of civil war -- not genocide.
Perinçek has said that although there were widespread deaths, they
don't fall under the legal term "genocide," according to Today's
Zaman. During a 2005 demonstration in Switzerland, he called the
incident "an international lie." Denying the genocide is illegal under
Swiss anti-racism laws. He was arrested and later convicted in 2007.
Perinçek appealed that decision and won in the European Court of Human
Rights last December. The court said he was just exercising his right
to free speech, but this ruling "casts doubt on the reality of
genocide that the Armenian people suffered a century ago," Clooney
said Wednesday. Perinçek took an opposing stance, telling the court
that "we are here for the freedom [of expression] of the people of
Europe."
3. The hearing: Wednesday's hearing lasted more than two hours in
Strasbourg, France. Clooney took the 17-member Grand Chamber through
Armenia's history and said that the court had neglected to review the
relevant evidence and witnesses, Today's Zaman reported. About 200
Perinçek supporters gathered outside. The Grand Chamber will announce
its decision at a later date.
4. The implications: The principal issue was freedom of speech in
Europe, where many countries have criminalized the refusal to
recognize the Armenian massacres as "genocide," Reuters reported.
France has faced legal battles in the past three years for adopting a
law that makes it illegal to deny it.
Clooney refuted the idea that the hearing was an effort to limit free
speech. "Armenia is not here to argue against freedom of expression
any more than Turkey is here to defend it," she said.
5. The fame: Clooney, who's become famous since marrying American
actor George Clooney, was surprised by the "rows of paparazzi" in
court Wednesday, the Telegraph reported. Amal recently made headlines
for donning white gloves at the Golden Globes, but when asked
Wednesday what she was wearing, she joked it was barrister's robes.
`It is not about white gloves or yachts," her colleague Robertson
said. "It puts the record straight. She is a human rights lawyer."
Perinçek Hearing
By Julia Glum
High-profile human rights lawyer Amal Clooney went up against DoÄ?u
Perinçek Wednesday in a France court hearing involving the racial
discrimination case of the Turkish Workers' Party chairman who claimed
the Armenian genocide never happened. Here are five things you need to
know about the hearing:
1. The players: Clooney and Geoffrey Robertson represented Armenia on
behalf of Doughty Street Chambers, the British law firm they work for.
"Armenia must have its day in court. The stakes could not be higher
for the Armenian people," Clooney said, according to the Telegraph.
The case revolved around Perinçek, who was convicted in 2007 for
denying the Armenian genocide. The European Court of Human Rights
overturned that conviction in December on grounds that his right to
free speech was violated, and Armenia filed an appeal. Turkey was a
co-defendant in the case.
2. The background: As many as 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands
of the Ottoman Turks from 1915 to 1923, the Associated Press reported.
Turkey has argued that the death toll was not only exaggerated but
also a result of civil war -- not genocide.
Perinçek has said that although there were widespread deaths, they
don't fall under the legal term "genocide," according to Today's
Zaman. During a 2005 demonstration in Switzerland, he called the
incident "an international lie." Denying the genocide is illegal under
Swiss anti-racism laws. He was arrested and later convicted in 2007.
Perinçek appealed that decision and won in the European Court of Human
Rights last December. The court said he was just exercising his right
to free speech, but this ruling "casts doubt on the reality of
genocide that the Armenian people suffered a century ago," Clooney
said Wednesday. Perinçek took an opposing stance, telling the court
that "we are here for the freedom [of expression] of the people of
Europe."
3. The hearing: Wednesday's hearing lasted more than two hours in
Strasbourg, France. Clooney took the 17-member Grand Chamber through
Armenia's history and said that the court had neglected to review the
relevant evidence and witnesses, Today's Zaman reported. About 200
Perinçek supporters gathered outside. The Grand Chamber will announce
its decision at a later date.
4. The implications: The principal issue was freedom of speech in
Europe, where many countries have criminalized the refusal to
recognize the Armenian massacres as "genocide," Reuters reported.
France has faced legal battles in the past three years for adopting a
law that makes it illegal to deny it.
Clooney refuted the idea that the hearing was an effort to limit free
speech. "Armenia is not here to argue against freedom of expression
any more than Turkey is here to defend it," she said.
5. The fame: Clooney, who's become famous since marrying American
actor George Clooney, was surprised by the "rows of paparazzi" in
court Wednesday, the Telegraph reported. Amal recently made headlines
for donning white gloves at the Golden Globes, but when asked
Wednesday what she was wearing, she joked it was barrister's robes.
`It is not about white gloves or yachts," her colleague Robertson
said. "It puts the record straight. She is a human rights lawyer."
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