Ilhan Askin, chairman of the Turkish Azerbaijani Cultural Association in The Hague, has been sentenced to in the Netherlands for hate speech and inciting violence, for his “Karabakh will be Armenians’ grave” chants, the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) reports.

Askin has been sentenced to 120 hours of community service and a suspended imprisonment of four weeks with a probation period of two years.

Askin was prosecuted for having chanted “Karabakh will be the grave of the Armenians” during a Turkish rally in Almelo. With this statement, according to the prosecutor, he incited violence against and insulted a group of people because of their Armenian descent.

On 1 June 2014 a Turkish demonstration took place in Almelo, against the Genocide memorial erected in the churchyard of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the city.

The Armenian community, namely the Federation of Armenian Organizations in the Netherlands (FAON) and Dutch Armenian Committee for Justice and Democracy (Hay Tad) had filed a complaint against the statements made during that demonstration.

The court hearing on the case on March 3 lasted for two hours and was attended by many Armenians and Turks, as well as Dutch, Armenian and Turkish media. The video played during the session showed Mr. Askin chanting the words “Karabakh will be the grave of the Armenians” several times, and a crowd of a few thousand people repeating the slogan.

Mr. Askin stated that he doesn’t consider his statements an offence. He said that his expressions relate to a specific region, where due to the current situation war will possibly break out and blood will be shed. He believes that he has not done anything wrong. He declared he doesn’t regret his statements.

The Prosecutor extensively explained the process of examination of the case and demanded 80 hours of community service and a suspended imprisonment of two weeks with a probation period of two years, because it is necessary to give a strong message.