European court rules Turkish teacher’s rights were violated by conviction based on phone app use

ISTANBUL (AP) — The European Court of Human Rights says that the rights of a Turkish teacher convicted of terrorism offences were violated because the case was largely based on his use of a phone app. The court said Tuesday that its ruling could apply to thousands of people convicted following an attempted coup in Turkey in 2016, where the prosecution presented use of the ByLock encrypted messaging app as evidence. Yuksel Yalcinkaya was among tens of thousands arrested following the failed coup. He was convicted of membership of a terrorist organization and sentenced to more than six years’ imprisonment.