Turkey guilty of violating right to free association

Euro Court Condemns Turkey for Banning Kurd Group

Updated 11:37 AM ET December 8, 1999

STRASBOURG (Reuters) - The European Court of Human Rights on

Wednesday found Turkey guilty of violating the right to free

association for banning a pro-Kurdish political party.

Turkey's constitutional court outlawed the Freedom and Democracy

Party (Ozdep) in July 1993, saying its advocacy of

self-determination for Kurds defied the Turkish constitution.

The European Court delivered a unanimous verdict saying it could

see nothing in the party's program that called for violence or

rebellion and that could have legitimized the Turkish court's

decision.

Turkey had defended its decision, saying Ozdep attacked the

indivisibility of the nation and advocated ethnic

discrimination.

The party's founder and president Mevlut Ilik was awarded 30,000

francs ($4,685) in damages and 40,000 francs costs.

The European court condemned Turkey in 1998 for disbanding a

communist and a socialist party on the grounds that they

referred to Kurdish self-determination.

A case against Turkey for banning the Islam-based Welfare party

in 1998 is still before the European Court.

($1-6.403 French Franc)