Is ECHR's ruling in Perinçek v Switzerland case moral victory for Armenia? (video)
Human rights activist Avetik Ishkhanyan says we should not consider the ECHR Grand Chamber’s judgment in the case of Perinçek v Switzerland as a victory for Armenia. “Do you consider this another moral victory for us? He went to court deliberately to vilify our tragedy but the court did not take it into account and ruled in favour of Perinçek,” Mr Ishkhanyan said during a discussion held at the Media Center NGO. On October 15, the European Court of Human Rights Grand Chamber judgement in the case of Pernicek v. Switzerland was handed down. The case concerns the criminal conviction of Dogu Perincek, a Turkish ultranationalist politician, who publicly challenged the existence of the Armenian Genocide in a series of lectures in Switzerland in 2005. The ECHR found that Switzerland violated Turkish politician Doğu Perinçek's right to freedom of speech. Deputy Justice Minister of Armenia Arman Tatoyan says the Court upheld Armenia’s claims as a third party. “The Court confirmed that it is not empowered and will not intervene in the Genocide. When we say we won, we mean the Court has satisfied our claims,” Mr Tatoyan said. International law expert Ara Ghazaryan thinks that the ECHR has granted Armenians a new right with its ruling in the Perinçek v Switzerland case. “Armenians have been granted the right to to protect the dignity of their ancestors, the Genocide victims, including the right to preserve their national and ethnic identity,” he said.
