STRASBOURG - The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Grand Chamber rejected on Thursday the application of directors of banned Welfare Party (RP) for appeals.
The ECHR Grand Chamber ruled that Turkey did not violate Article 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights about right to freedom of peaceful assembly.
The Grand Chamber did not consider it necessary to observe complaints of RP lawyers about articles 9, 10, 14, 17 and 18 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
After the Third Chamber of the ECHR decided in July of 2001 that Turkey had not violated human rights while debating the application of the RP, RP directors applied to the Grand Chamber to hear the case again.
The ECHR Grand Chamber debated the application on June 19, 2002.
Necmettin Erbakan, Sevket Kazan and Ahmet Tekdal, the directors of the banned RP, applied to the ECHR in 1998 and claimed that Turkey had violated eleven articles of the European Convention on Human Rights.
In its decision dated October 3, 2000, the ECHR decided to take the RP's application on its agenda.
During its session on January 16, 2001, the ECHR listened to lawyers of Turkish government and the RP. ECHR judges asked questions to the lawyers whether or not the RP was a political party defending Sharia religious laws.
The Third Chamber of the ECHR which is composed of seven judges, decided in July of 2001 that Turkey had not violated human rights while debating the application of the RP.