In the case of Selahattin Demirtaş v. Turkey, the Court has found several violations of the Convention.

The case concerned the applicant’s arrest and pre-trial detention. Currently detained in Edirne, at the time of the events he was one of the co-chairs of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), a left-wing pro-Kurdish political party, and a member of the Turkish Grand National Assembly.

Press release

In the case of Toranzo Gómez v. Spain, the Court has found a violation of the right to freedom of expression.

The applicant was convicted for slander in 2011 after having accused police officers of torture. He alleged that they had attempted to remove him from a makeshift tunnel using a rope while he participated in a sit-in protest at a social centre.

Press release

In the case of Ognevenko v. Russia, the Court has found a breach of the right to freedom of assembly and association. The applicant, a train driver for Russian Railways, alleged that he had been dismissed for taking part in a strike in 2008.

The Court noted that train drivers and other categories of railway worker were included in occupations which were prohibited from striking. That restriction had not been sufficiently justified by the Government and was in conflict with internationally recognised labour rules.

Press release

In the case of Togrul v. Bulgaria the Court held that there has been a violation of the protection of property.

The case concerned the confiscation by the Bulgarian authorities of a sum of 199,400 euros which the applicant had not declared to Bulgarian customs, and the retention of a sum of 9,100 euros.

Press release

13/11/2018

The Court held a Chamber hearing in the cases of Elçi v. Turkey, Ahmet Tunç and Others v. Turkey and Tunç and Yerbasan v. Turkey.

These applications concern alleged rights violations which took place during curfews which were imposed in 2015 and 2016 by local governors in parts of southeast Turkey during fighting between Government forces and members of illegal armed organisations.

Press release

Webcast of the hearing

Country profile - Turkey

In November 2018 the Court will be holding hearings in cases concerning Turkey, Hungary and Spain.

The cases of Elçi v. Turkey, Ahmet Tunç and Others v. Turkey and Tunç and Yerbasan v. Turkey relate to events that took place during curfews imposed in Turkey since August 2015.

In the case of Magyar Kétfarkú Kutya Párt v. Hungary the applicant, a political party, complains of being fined for making a mobile telephone application available to voters allowing them to post and share photographs of invalid ballot papers during the 2016 referendum on the European Union’s migrant relocation plans.

The case of López Ribalda and Others v. Spain concerns the covert video surveillance in the workplace of employees of a Spanish supermarket chain, following suspected thefts.

Press release

Calendar of hearings

The Court will be delivering a Grand Chamber ruling in the case of Berlusconi v. Italy on 27 November 2018.

The applicant, Silvio Berlusconi, a former Prime Minister of Italy, was removed from office as a Senator, by the Italian Senate in November 2013, on account of his conviction for tax evasion. Before the ECHR he alleges a violation of Article 7 (no punishment without law), Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 (right to free elections) and Article 13 (right to an effective remedy).

Press release

Webcast of the hearing (22/11/2017)

In the case of Navalnyy v. Russia, the Court found several violations of the Convention.

The applicant, Aleksey Navalnyy, is a political activist, opposition leader, anti-corruption campaigner and blogger. The case concerned his arrest on seven occasions in 2012 and 2014 at different public gatherings, and the subsequent proceedings against him for administrative offences.

The Court held, in particular, that some of the arrests had actually aimed at suppressing political pluralism. Furthermore, it invited the Russian Federation to take steps to guarantee the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.

Press release Delivery of the judgment

Webcast of the hearing (24/01/2018) Country profile - Russian Federation

On 20 November 2018, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, visited the Court and was received by President Guido Raimondi. Armen Harutyunyan, judge elected in respect of Armenia, and Roderick Liddell, Registrar, also attended the meeting.

On 19 November 2018, Dolores Delgado García, Minister of Justice of Spain, visited the Court and was received by President Guido Raimondi. María Elósegui, judge elected in respect of Spain, and Françoise Elens-Passos, Deputy Registrar, also attended the meeting.

To mark the Finnish Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the Court has produced a new publication: The ECHR and Finland in Facts and Figures. It is part of a series which provides a global overview of the Court’s work and the extent to which its judgments have an impact in each member State.

The ECHR and Finland - Facts and figures 

Facts and Figures by State