WINTERTHUR (Switzerland), Oct 21: A Swiss court convicted three Turkish men of racism on Tuesday for denying that the alleged deaths of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians under Ottoman rule during the early 20th century amounted to “genocide”.

State prosecutor Andrej Gnehm said the 58-, 53- and 42-year-old men have been ordered to each pay up to 4,500 Swiss francs ($4,000). The defendants were not identified in the ruling because of privacy laws.

Gnehm said the men helped organise an event in Switzerland last year during which Dogu Perincek, the leader of the Turkish Workers Party, denied the killing of Armenians was “genocide”. A Swiss court convicted him of racism and fined him.

None of the defendants received jail sentences.

The case has caused diplomatic tension between Switzerland and Turkey.

Western historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed in 1915-18 in Ottoman Turkey in what is widely regarded as the first genocide of the 20th century. About 20 parliaments have passed resolutions to this effect.—AP