Thursday, January 29 2015 09:32

 A hearing on the "Perincek vs. Switzerland" case was held at the Strasbourg court's 17-member Grand Chamber on January 28.  The verdict will be announced in several months. 

In 2007, the Swiss court had convicted Dogu Perincek under Article 216 of the Criminal Code for denying the Armenian Genocide, subjecting him to financial and criminal liability. The Court of Appeals of Vaud Canton and the Federal Supreme Court had denied the appeal submitted against the given verdict. On December 17, 2013, the ECHR ruled in favor of Perincek's lawsuit that was filed against Switzerland, according to which Swiss courts had violated Perincek's right to freedom of speech.  

On March 11, Switzerland's Federal Office of Justice had informed that Switzerland was preparing to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) with the demand for the Grand Chamber to reconsider Perincek's case. The ECHR had sent the case to the Grand Chamber prior to March 17. On August 25, Armenia filed an application to participate in the trial. Turkey had also filed an application to participate.

Armenia participates in the hearings as a third party. The Armenian delegation comprises General Attorney Gevork Kostanyan, his assistant Emil Babayan, deputy minister of justice Arman Tatoyan. The lawyers representing Armenia's interests at the hearings are Amal Clooney, Geoffrey Robertson QC and Toby Collis.

At the January 28 hearings, Perincek reaffirmed that he does not deny the mass killings of Armenia, but cannot qualify them as genocide. He even expressed his sympathies for Talahat-Pasha, the chief organizer of the Armenian Genocide.  

In his speech at the hearings, Geoffrey Robertson QC accused Mr Perincek of being an admirer of Talaat Pasha, one of the organisers of the Armenian genocide, a man he said was the "Ottoman's Empire's Hitler". Mr Robertson argued that the Turkish Left-wing nationalist had travelled Europe deliberately trying to provoke a conviction for genocide denial in order to "arouse his supporters in Turkey". "It was made by a man who only came to Switzerland in order to be convicted. That was his purpose. He went to Germany, France, at the end of the day he tried to go Greece to expostulate but was turned away. He is genocide denier forum shopper," he said.  "He is an incurable genocide denier, a criminal and a vexatious litigant."

Mrs Clooney, who is representing Armenia on behalf of Doughty Street Chambers along with Geoffrey Robertson QC, said Turkey's stance was hypocritical "because of its disgraceful record on freedom of expression", including prosecutions of Turkish-Armenians who campaign for the1915 massacres to be called a genocide.

She said the verdict earlier adopted by the EHCR lower chamber in favor of Perincek was wrong, as the proofs and evidences of Turks' atrocities against Armenians show their genocidal intentions. 

According to her, the verdict was not based on historical facts and documents and was adopted without participation of the Armenian party.  The lawyer called the verdict of the ECHR lawyer chamber in favor of Perincek as a decision that profanes the memory for the Armenians massacred in the Ottoman Empire and supports the people who deny the Genocide.