Conviction based on app use violated Turkish teacher’s rights, European court says

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday that a Turkish teacher convicted in 2017 of terrorism offenses had his rights violated because the case against him relied mostly on his use of an encrypted messaging application.

The court said its ruling on the conviction of Yuksel Yalcinkaya, a former teacher, could apply to thousands of other Turks who were jailed following a 2016 failed coup attempt that Turkey blames on followers of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Turkey, whose justice minister criticised the ECHR's ruling, considers Gulen's movement a terrorist organization. Yalcinkaya was convicted in 2017 of membership in the group and sentenced to six years and three months in prison.

In its ruling, the ECHR said Turkey's conviction of Yalcinkaya was "based decisively" on his alleged use of ByLock, an encrypted messaging system that Turkish...