The ECtHR considered Bulgaria unfair, which condemned the candidate of Turkish origin

The former president of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) in Bulgaria, Lütfü Ahmet Mestan, was fined 2,000 leva for speaking his mother tongue at the opening of the parliamentary election campaign in 2013.

According to the news collected by Euronews Turkish, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) condemned Bulgaria, which sentenced the politician of Turkish origin for speaking in his mother tongue during the electoral campaign. The ECHR, in adjudicating Mestan’s application in 2015, ruled that Bulgaria violated Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) on freedom of expression and thought.

In its reasoned decision, the ECHR recalled that the electoral law in Bulgaria prohibits the use of candidates other than the official language during the campaign, and warned that this practice “is not suitable for a democratic and pluralistic system”.

According to the decision, Bulgaria will pay compensation of 4,400 euros, including court costs.