Hayri Demir
The Constitutional Court ruled that the ban imposed by the Kayseri Governor's Office on the conference titled "Kayseri and its Surroundings: Social, Cultural, and Economic History," which was planned to be held by the Hrant Dink Foundation in 2019, constituted a violation of rights.
The Foundation sought to organize a conference titled “100 Years of Social, Economic, and Cultural Change in Kayseri and Its Surroundings, 1850-1950” on October 18-19, 2019.
The conference was expected to feature more than twenty scholars from Turkey, the United States, France, Greece, and Armenia. However, the Kayseri Governor’s Office decided to ban the presentation of one of the attending academicians, citing that the topic of one academic's presentation was "not aligned with the Foundation’s objectives" and therefore posed an "open and imminent danger to public security and the potential for crime."
The topic title was cited as a reason for the banning
The conference was eventually held in Istanbul later, despite the governor's ban. However, the Foundation, through its lawyers, also filed a lawsuit at Kayseri's 2nd Administrative Court to annul the ban. The administrative court, however, rejected the case. In the reasoning for the rejection, it was argued that topics such as "The History of the Genocide, the 1909 Adana Massacre, and the Cilicia Massacre" did not align with the Foundation's objectives of promoting intercultural dialogue, eliminating all forms of discrimination, and fostering a culture of peace and reconciliation in society. Instead, it was claimed that these topics would reduce intercultural dialogue, increase discrimination, and negatively impact the culture of peace and reconciliation in society.
The ruling further stated that "the recognition of genocide and massacres requires a historical and legal determination, and no such determination has been made." It was concluded that the topics of the planned conference did not serve the Foundation's objectives.
The court defended the ban because it could "lead to acts of violence."
In its decision, the Administrative Court argued that "if the conference's final statement were to be made public, it could lead to acts of violence and a potential disruption of public order."
In response to the Administrative Court's rejection, an appeal was filed with the Constitutional Court, claiming that the "right to hold meetings and demonstrations" had been violated. After reviewing the case in July 2021, the high court concluded that the ban violated rights.
No sufficient justification was given for the ban decision
In the justification of the violation decision of the Constitutional Court, it was stated that “It has been evaluated that it has not been demonstrated with relevant and sufficient justifications that the banning of the conference to be organized by the Foundation was intended to meet a compelling social need and was necessary in a democratic society”.
In this context, it was decided to send the file to Kayseri 2nd Administrative Court for a retrial to eliminate the consequences of the violation.
