European Court Vindicates Convicted Turkish Author

The European Court of Human Rights announced today that it has issued an opinion holding that the conviction of a Turkish author for defiling religion violates the freedom of expression protections in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The judgment awarded damages in the amount of 3000 Euros to Aydın Tatlav who wrote a book titled Islamiyet Gercegi ("The Reality of Islam"). The book takes the position that religion has had the effect of legitimizing social injustices by portraying them as "God's will". First published in 1992, the book's 5th edition was published in 1996. It was at that time that a prosecution was initiated by Turkish authorities upon complaint of a private citizen. The European Court said that Tatlav's conviction, with a risk of imprisonment, might discourage authors and editors from publishing opinions about religion that were not conformist and could impede the protection of pluralism, which was indispensable for the healthy development of a democratic society.