In Kanatli v. Turkey, (ECHR, March 12, 2024) (full text of opinion in French), the European Court of Human Rights in a Chamber Judgment held that Turkey had violated Article 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion) of the European Convention on Human Rights when it convicted a military reservist who had subsequently become a conscientious objector for refusing to serve a one-day reserve duty call-up. The reservist, who had become an activist on the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection, was convicted of violating Turkey's Mobilization Act and fined the equivalent of 167 Euros. He refused to pay the fine and was therefore sentenced to ten days in prison. An English language press release from the Court summarizes its holding, saying in part:
The relevant national legislation – which provided for compulsory military service in the armed forces, including as a reservist – made no provision for potential conscientious objectors to perform an alternative form of service....
The Court had previously found that a system which provided for no alternative service or any effective and accessible procedure for the examination of a claim of conscientious objection could not be seen as having struck a fair balance between the general interest of society and that of conscientious objectors. No convincing arguments having been put forward by the Government, the Court saw no reason to depart from its case-law in the present case....
The Court held that Türkiye was to pay the applicant 9,000 euros (EUR) in respect of non-pecuniary damage and EUR 2,363 in respect of costs and expenses.
