Religion – Weltanschauung – Recht [ RWR ]

The four applicants, Çağlar Buldu, Barış Görmez, Ersin Ölgün and Nevzat Umdu are Turkish nationals, who were born between 1972 and 1983 and live in Istanbul and İzmir, except for Mr Görmez, who was being held at the Isparta military prison when he lodged his application. They are Jehovah’s Witnesses who refuse to carry out their military service for reasons of conscience.

Relying on Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment), all the applicants allege that they were prosecuted and convicted on account of their refusal to serve in the army and complain about treatment that they allegedly sustained during the proceedings in question. They further argue that their criminal convictions entailed a violation of Article 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion). Relying on Article 6 (right to a fair hearing), Mr Görmez also complains that he had to appear, as a civilian, before a court made up exclusively of military personnel. The applicants further complain that their rights under Articles 5 (right to liberty and security), 7 (no punishment without law) and 13 (right to an effective remedy) were also breached.

Press release ECHR 147 (2014) 27/05/2014