Strasbourg - The European Court of Human Rights backed the Turkish government yesterday, ruling that its decision to outlaw the Islamist Welfare Party did not violate human rights.
It was a rare victory for Ankara, which has been condemned by the court at least 11 times since 1998 for violations. By a vote of four to three, the European judges ruled that the January 1998 ban on the Welfare or Refah party could be considered a response to a social problem with the aim of protecting Turkish democracy.