Swiss top court upholds conviction of 4 over 'Kill Erdogan' banner at a 2017 demonstration

GENEVA — Switzerland's top court has rejected an appeal by four protesters who were convicted of public incitement to a crime over a banner that called for the killing of Turkey's president at a demonstration more than 8 years ago.

In a statement Wednesday, the Federal Tribunal said it upheld a lower court's decision over the banner that read “Kill Erdogan with his own weapons” — a reference to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — at a March 2017 protest in the Swiss capital, Bern.

The banner featured an image of the Turkish leader with a gun pointed at his temple. A regional court convicted the defendants in 2020, handing down fines and suspended prison sentences.

“Based on the concrete circumstances — the selected image, associated with text — the banner cannot objectively be considered anything else than as a clear and urgent incitement to kill the Turkish president,” a statement from the high court said Wednesday.

“The convictions handed down are in line with freedom of expression and assembly,” it said.

The court said a democracy should allow free expression even if the words used might be unpleasant or shocking to many, but the banner “went beyond provocative speech or virulent criticism” that is protected under the law.

Erdogan referred to the banner in 2017 while campaigning for constitutional changes to grant him sweeping new powers, just months after a failed coup attempt in Turkey.

The demonstration came amid tensions between Ankara and parts of Europe over the referendum in Turkey on the proposed constitutional changes, and allegations of Turkish interference in Swiss political affairs.