Partly dissenting opinion of Judge Palm in the case of Sürek v. Turkey (No. 3), No. 24735/94, ECtHR (Grand Chamber), 8 July 1999

Violation of Article 10 ECHR. Incitement to violence.

Art. 10 ECHR

In examining whether the writing published by the applicant instigated the use of violence, the Court attached too much weight to the vehemence of the language used. Even violent or offensive speech may be protected by the Convention in a democracy. In this perspective, importance should have been given to the different elements of the general context in which the words were uttered. Taking this approach, it seems that there was no real risk of incitement to violence in the present case.