Joint partly dissenting opinion of Judges Tulkens, Casadevall and Greve in the case of Sürek v. Turkey (No. 1), No. 26682/95, ECtHR (Grand Chamber), 8 July 1999

Violation of Article 10 ECHR. Incitement to violence.

Art. 10 ECHR

By comparing the assessment of political statements in different cases concerning the right to information and freedom of expression, the conclusions reached by the Court seem to be inconsistent. Interferences in the freedom of expression should be allowed only “when there is direct provocation to commit serious criminal offences (crimes)”. In this perspective, it is difficult to assess the meaning of the terms used in the letters at issue in the present case. On this basis, Article 10 ECHR should have been considered breached.