Swiss Jews regret European Court decision on genocide denial ...

The Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities has expressed its regret over a decision by the European Court of Human Rights that a Turkish politician should not have been prosecuted or denying that the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turkey was a genocide.

However, in its statement the federation welcomed that the court in its judgement chose to uphold anti-racist norms and maintained its position regarding the specific issue of Holocaust denial.

Judges ruled by 10 votes to seven that Dogu Perincek's 2007 conviction for racial discrimination by a Swiss court infringed his right to free speech.
Perincek had said "the Armenian genocide is a big fat lie".
The ECHR ruled that Perincek had not called for "hatred or intolerance".
The ECHR found that his statements related to an issue of "public interest" and "could not be regarded as affecting the dignity of the members of the Armenian community to the point of requiring a criminal law response".
The court however made a distinction with Holocaust denial, which judges said could always be seen as a form of incitement to racial hatred in certain countries. 
The Swiss government said it would examine the judgement to assess whether any change was required to its anti-racism law.
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E.J.C. Report.