Anti-Muslim demonstration breach of Article 9 ECHR: Karaahmed v Bulgaria

The Banya Bashi Mosque, built in 1576, is currently the only active mosque in Sofia. Loudspeakers were installed soon after the fall of the communist regime in 1989 and used for the call for prayer, which lasts about five minutes five times a day, and for the whole of the Friday prayers, but turned off between 10 pm and 6 am to comply with the urban noise regulations.

The facts

Ataka, a Bulgarian political party, began a campaign against the noise from the mosque’s loudspeakers and on the evening of 18 July 2006 organised a rally against the “howling” emanating from the loudspeakers during the call to prayer. Continue reading