Published on 5 December 2022

SECOND SECTION

Application no. 38976/18 Ali Nihat YAZICI against Türkiye lodged on 6 August 2018 communicated on 15 November 2022

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The application concerns the proceedings before the disciplinary committee of the Turkish Chess Federation (“Federation”). The applicant, who was the former president of the Federation was suspended for a period of six-months for having made defamatory statements against the administrators of the Federation in several articles he published on the internet. The applicant objected to the decision before the Sports Arbitration Board ( Spor Tahkim Kurulu ), which is established under the auspices of the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The board upheld the disciplinary sanction finding the applicant’s grounds for appeal unfounded. The board also dismissed the applicant’s request for rectification. This decision, which was rendered on 13 April 2018, was final and not subject to any judicial review before ordinary courts under article 59 of the Turkish Constitution.

The applicant complains that the disciplinary sanction imposed on him on account of his criticism towards the Federation amounted to a violation of his right to freedom of expression protected by Article 10 of the Convention.

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

Has there been an interference with the applicant’s freedom of expression, in particular his right to impart information and ideas, within the meaning of Article 10 § 1 of the Convention on account of the disciplinary sanction imposed on him (see, among others, Delfi AS v. Estonia [GC], no. 64569/09, § 120, ECHR 2015; Karademirci and Others v. Turkey , nos. 37096/97 and 37101/97, § 42, ECHR 2005-I; and A.M. v. Turkey [Committee], no. 67199/17, §§ 35-36, 19 October 2021)?