158_37 interference 37. As pointed out above, the criminal proceedings against the applicants are still pending in Turkey. Nevertheless, having regard to the length of time those proceedings have already taken, the Court does not deem it necessary to wait for their conclusion before examining the merits of the applicants’ complaints under Article 11 of the Convention. To that end the Court notes, firstly, that even if the applicants are acquitted at the end of the criminal proceedings, such an acquittal would not alter the fact that there has already been an interference with the applicants’ rights under Article 11 of the Convention on account of the gendarmes’ intervention in the meeting and the applicants’ subsequent arrest (see paragraph 36 above).AKGÖL AND GÖL v. TURKEY JUDGMENT 7