Paylan Appeals to European Court as Turkish Constitutional Court Rejects His Case

ANKARA, Turkey—Armenian Member of Turkish Parliament Garo Paylan has decided to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) after the Turkish Constitutional Court rejected his appeal to reverse his ban from three parliamentary sessions for referring to the Armenian Genocide during a parliamentary meeting.

Paylan noted that he has appealed to the ECHR since Turkey failed to address the issue and uphold democratic values, Istanbul-based Agos reported

“We used to account for 40 percent [of the country’s population]. Now we are barely one out of a 1,000. It seems likely that something happened to us. I define this as a genocide,” Paylan said on Jan. 13 during deliberations on proposed changes to the country’s constitution.

Shortly after his address began, parliamentarians from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) angrily interrupted his speech. AKP Parliamentarian Naci Bostan slammed Paylan’s comments and labeled them as “provocative” and “unfair” while AKP member Metin Külünk demanded that he “correct” the word genocide.

Following the parliamentary session, Paylan explained to Turkey-based Dihaber news that he was attempting to draw lessons from the past since four main diversities— Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, and Jews— were lost during World War I. “I mentioned that if we make same mistakes, we may live with same pains,” Paylan told Dihaber.

As a result, Paylan was suspended from attending three parliamentary sessions.

Paylan appealed to the Turkish Constitutional Court on Jan. 16, on the grounds of “violation of parliamentary immunity and abolishment of freedom of expression.”