ECHR fines Turkey for violating privacy of Australian man
STRASBOURG
The judgement came as Dion Ross Bremner, an Australian national, filed a complaint with the ECHR in 1998, over the allegation that the broadcasting of a documentary – which was filmed with a hidden camera – showing Bremner promoting his evangelical Christian beliefs breached his right to respect for his private life, with the documentary described by its presenter as showing the covert activities of a “foreign peddler of religion,” the ECHR said in a press statement on Oct. 13.
The ECHR said it had concluded that Turkey had violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights – the right to respect for private and family life – and fined the country 7,500 euros for non-pecuniary damages.
The ECHR said the documentary included a meeting filmed with a hidden camera in a restaurant in the presence of Bremner, a person identified as A.N., and a group of friends of the latter who supposedly wished to learn more about Christianity.
The program’s presenter, in the company of police officers, then entered the room with a camera and a microphone, claiming to have heard about the meeting and wanting to join in before interviewing Bremner about his activities, the ECHR added, a meeting that led Bremner to spend a night in custody before being released the next day.