According to JINNEWS, 9 members of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) and the Families of Convicts Association, who celebrated the birthday of Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan on 4 April, 2006 in Siirt, were accused of "propaganda for an illegal organization, and praise of its crimes".

Eight out of 9 people were arrested, while Fehime Ete, was not found. The eight people were later released. The court sentenced all 9 defendants to 10 months. Appeals against the sentence were dismissed.

Turkey asked to pay compensation

Ete's lawyer, Reyhan Yalçındağ Baydemir, applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) after the domestic remedies were exhausted.

The ECHR ruled on the application two days ago. In its decision, it stated that detention and punishment for celebrating Abdullah Öcalan's birthday and cutting a cake for him were a violation of freedom of expression as per Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The ECHR sentenced Turkey to pay 2,000 Euros of non-pecuniary damages to Ete as well as 1,500 Euros to cover legal expenses.