Nisanyan to Sue Turkey at European Court

Nisanyan to Sue Turkey at European Court

Turkish-Armenian entrepreneur-scholar Sevan Nisanyan is appealing to the European Court for Human Rights to stop the demolition order on his Hotels from being carried out. 

Nisanyan told the Armenian Weekly in an email that he is “now appealing to the European Court for Human Rights.” 

The Nisanyan Hotels are located in Sirince, Izmir, a village of around 600 inhabitants in the Aegean hills. Nisanyan settled there 15 years ago, and almost single handedly turned this small village with a dying agriculture into a booming tourist spot. 

Nisanyan purchased and renovated many houses in Sirince, using the traditional methods of building, and preserving the aesthetics that are authentic to the area. He then converted them into what are known today as the Nisanyan Hotels. 

Nisanyan noted that to date, 16 criminal charges have been brought against him–all related to “unauthorized construction,” “unauthorized repair work,” and “defying government orders”– that demand a 50-year prison sentence for him. Five cases have concluded, serving him with a total of 10.5 years in prison. His appeals are pending. 

Nisanyan, who was awarded the 2004 Freedom of Thought Award by the Human Rights Association of Turkey, has often voiced views that are controversial in the tightly censored Turkish society. His last comments about the Armenian Genocide, made during a Turkish television debate program, resulted in the punishment of the airing station by Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK), who claimed Nişanyan’s comments were excessively critical and that they “humiliated the Republic of Turkey.” 

Many believe that the demolition order is meant to punish Nisanyan for his outspokenness (click here for more details). 

In Nisanyan’s own words to the Weekly, “’The Armenian who openly defies the Turkish State’ is something they cannot tolerate.”

By: Nanore Barsoumian

www.armenianweekly.com

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