Communicated on 12 December 2017

SECOND SECTION

Application no. 51512/08 Fatih TAÅž against Turkey lodged on 24 September 2008

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The application concerns the criminal proceedings brought against the applicant under section 7 (2) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (Law no. 3713) for disseminating propaganda in favour of the PKK, an illegal armed organisation.

At the time of the events giving rise to the present application, the applicant was the owner and the editor-in-chief of a publishing house, Aram Basım ve Yayıncılık . In 2003 he published a novel in Kurdish entitled “The Hill of the Lions (Uprising)” (“ Gir ȇ Şȇ ran ( Serh i ldan )). Criminal proceedings were brought against the applicant for disseminating propaganda in favour of the PKK, an illegal armed organisation, and its military forces, ERNK and ARGK, on account of the content of certain poems and passages found in pages 296, 415, 422, 427 and 428 of the book. In 2007 the applicant was convicted as charged and in 2010 the Court of Cassation upheld the first-instance judgment. Subsequently, in 2011 the Plenary Court of Cassation (Criminal Divisions) quashed the applicant ’ s conviction. On 7 October 2011 the proceedings against the applicant were terminated because the prosecution became time-barred.

The applicant relies on Article 10 of the Convention.

QUESTION tO THE PARTIES

Has there been a violation of the applicant ’ s right to freedom of expression, contrary to Article 10 of the Convention, on account of the criminal proceedings brought against him before the Istanbul Assize Court under section 7 § 2 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (files nos. 2003/337 – 2007/42 – 2011/132)?