Sayfa 133I. Foreseeability of Article 220/6 of the Turkish Penal Code: Işıkırık Case
In the judgment of Işıkırık v. Turkey (no. 41226/09) of 14 November 2017,…
The applicant was convicted of membership of the PKK (an armed terrorist organisation)…
The domestic courts convicted him on the grounds that:…
o He had attended the funeral of four militants, had walked in front of one of the…
o He had applauded while other demonstrators chanted slogans in support of Öcalan…
The applicant’s conviction of membership of the terrorist organisation was based…
At the relevant time, Article 220 § 6 read as follows: …
“Anyone who commits a crime on behalf of an (illegal) organisation, even if they…
The domestic courts considered that since both the funeral and the demonstration…
The applicant applied to the ECHR alleging that his conviction had breached Article…
In its judgment, the Court first found that the applicant’s conviction under paragraph…
In that connection, first the Court noted that the legislation in question was accessible.…
The Court subsequently examined whether paragraph 6 of Article 220 fulfilled the…
Furthermore, the wording of paragraph 6 of Article 220 of the Criminal Code did not…
The Court considered that the requirement of foreseeability required a criminal law…
The Court hence examined whether paragraph 6 of Article 220 of the Criminal Code…
In that connection, the Court made the following observations: 1. Extensive application of the criteria for membership of an illegal organisation to the detriment of the applicant: …
The domestic courts interpreted the notion of “membership” of an illegal organisation under paragraph 6 of Article 220 in extensive terms.…
The domestic courts then punished those accused as actual members. In contrast, when…
In Işıkırık’s case, on the other hand, when Article 314 was applied in connection…
2. Failure to provide sufficient measure of protection against arbitrary interferences: When…
The Court considered that the array of acts that potentially constituted a basis…
3. Failure to differentiate between peaceful demonstrators and members of illegal organisations: …
The Court also found that as a result of the applicant’s conviction for acts which…
Such extensive interpretation of a legal norm could not be justified when it had…
In that connection, the Court noted that it did not underestimate the difficulties…
4. Severe, disproportionate and deterrent prison sentences: …
The applicant was given a prison sentence of six years and three months and was imprisoned…
In the light of the abovementioned considerations, the Court concluded that paragraph…
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