The court unanimously ruled that 2,000 euros had to be paid to applicant Özcan Sapan -- the owner of publishing house Çivi Yazıları -- as well as 1,000 euros to cover court costs.Responding to the 2004 application of Sapan, the ECtHR ruled on Tuesday that the book’s removal from bookshelves violates Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 10 provides the right to freedom of expression which “may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society.” The book, “Tarkan, Yıldız Olgusu” (Tarkan, Star Phenomenon), was written in 2001 by academic Aysun Yüksel from Eskişehir Anadolu University. The first section of the book discusses Tarkan’s rise to stardom, and the second section is about the artist’s life. The book also features 31 photographs of Tarkan. Tarkan had previously filed a court case against the book on the grounds that the book tarnishes his image and violates his personal rights. He had also demanded that the book be taken off the market because he had not given permission for it be written, his fans had been deceived by the photographs used in the book and income had been earned from the sale of the book.
The 11th Civil Court of First Instance had ruled that the book should be removed from sale because it violated the personal rights of the singer. Sapan appealed the judgment and lost. The ECtHR stated that since the person involved is a well-known pop star, it is normal for people to be interested in his life and that the photographs used in the book had already been published by various media outlets.
