In its judgment of 28 November 2017 regarding the case of “Merçan and others vs. Switzerland,” the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) unanimously ruled that the right of freedom of expression of our citizens Ali Merçan, Hasan Kemahlı and Ethem Kayalı, who were convicted by Switzerland due to their statements with regard to the events of 1915 on grounds of “denial of genocide,” was violated.

We regard this judgment as a very strong decision based on democratic and legal principles against all attempts and practices imposing the allegations of “genocide” as if they were an absolute truth.

This judgment, following the ruling of the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR on the case of “Perinçek v. Switzerland,” affirmed that different opinions regarding the events of 1915 are under the protection of the freedom of expression and that there exist historical and legal differences between the events of 1915 and the Holocaust. Thus, our rightful position on the events of 1915, which is based on strong legal grounds, has been confirmed once again.