Feti Demirtaş v. Turkey (no. 5260/07) - Chamber Judgment 17 January 2012. The applicant, Mr Feti Demirtaş, is a Turkish national who was born in 1981 and lives in Istanbul. He was baptised as a Jehovah’s Witness at the age of 20 and refuses to perform his military service. He has declared his willingness to perform alternative civilian service. Relying on Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment), Mr Demirtaş complained of an endless series of prosecutions and convictions on account of his refusal to wear military uniform. He also alleged that he had been subjected to various forms of inhuman and degrading treatment in Şirinyer military prison, in his military unit in Erzurum and in Balıkesir military prison. He further contended that his successive convictions for refusing to serve in the armed forces had amounted to a violation of Article 9 (right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion). Relying also on Article 6 (right to a fair trial), he complained of being forced, as a civilian, to appear before a court made up exclusively of army officers. The Court found violation of Article 3, Article 9, anf Article 6 § 1 and awarded just satisfaction: EUR 15 000 (non-pecuniary damage) and EUR 5 000 (costs and expenses).
Bukharatyan v. Armenia (no. 37819/03) - Chamber Judgment 10 January 2012.
Tsaturyan v. Armenia (no. 37821/03) - Chamber Judgment 10 January 2012.
The applicants, Hayk Bukharatyan and Ashot Tsaturyan, are Armenian nationals who were both born in 1980 and live in Yerevan. Jehovah’s Witnesses, they complained about being convicted and sentenced to two years in prison in April 2003 for refusing to serve in the army. They relied on Article 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court found a violation of Article 9 in each case and awarded each applicant just satisfaction of EUR 6,000 euros (EUR) (non-pecuniary damage) and EUR 4,000(costs and expenses).
Erçep v. Turkey (no. 43965/04) - Chamber Judgment 22 November 2011. The case concerned the refusal by the applicant, Yunus Erçep, a Turkish national who is a Jehovah's Witness and conscientious objector, to perform military service for reasons of conscience. The Court held, unanimously, that there had been violations of Article 9 (right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion) and Article 6 (right to a fair trial). Under Article 41 (just satisfaction), the applicant was awarded 10,000 euros in respect of non-pecuniary damage and 5,000 euros in respect of costs and expenses.