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BÝA, Turkey
July 12 2006
Rehn: "High Court Decison Disappointing"
EU Commissioner Olli Rehn criticizes Court of Cassation decision
against Armenian journalist Hýrant Dink, editor of weekly Agos, based
in Istanbul. High Court confirmed prison sentence for "insulting
Turkishness".
BIA News Center
12/07/2006
BÝA (Ankara) - European Commission (EU) Commissioner for Enlargement
Olli Rehn in a public statement on Wednesday expresses
"disappointment" for the confirmation by the Turkish Court of
Cassation of the prison sentence given to Mr Hrant Dink.
"This judgement is the first final judgement by the highest
jurisdiction in Turkey about the interpretation of article 301. In
this sense, it establishes a binding case law that will set the trend
for lower jurisdiction to follow when applying article 301 in the
future," Rehn observed
"It also shows that in the current situation, courts have not
succeeded in establishing a positive case law when interpreting the
provisions of the new Penal Code in line with the relevant EU
standards." he told.
This is all the more serious since there are still a number of
similar court cases pending.
Rehn urged "Turkish authorities amend article 301 and other vaguely
formulated articles in order to guarantee freedom of expression in
Turkey."
The Court of Cassation decided to confirm the prison sentence for Mr
Hrant Dink, editor in chief of Istanbul based bilingual,
Turkish-Armenian weekly, on the grounds that he insulted
"Turkishness" on the basis of article 301 of the new Penal Code.
Dink was sentenced to six months at the local court, and the court
later suspended the sentence justifying it with the convict's
goodwill. The high court prosecutor however demanded Dink's
acquittal, but the high court turned down the demand which relied on
the evaluation that Dink's controversial expressions were
"allegorical" rather more than insulting "Turkishness". (EK/YE)
--Boundary_(ID_Kyycu/YG0Vo1ntg6XYxhgQ)--
From: Baghdasarian
July 12 2006
Rehn: "High Court Decison Disappointing"
EU Commissioner Olli Rehn criticizes Court of Cassation decision
against Armenian journalist Hýrant Dink, editor of weekly Agos, based
in Istanbul. High Court confirmed prison sentence for "insulting
Turkishness".
BIA News Center
12/07/2006
BÝA (Ankara) - European Commission (EU) Commissioner for Enlargement
Olli Rehn in a public statement on Wednesday expresses
"disappointment" for the confirmation by the Turkish Court of
Cassation of the prison sentence given to Mr Hrant Dink.
"This judgement is the first final judgement by the highest
jurisdiction in Turkey about the interpretation of article 301. In
this sense, it establishes a binding case law that will set the trend
for lower jurisdiction to follow when applying article 301 in the
future," Rehn observed
"It also shows that in the current situation, courts have not
succeeded in establishing a positive case law when interpreting the
provisions of the new Penal Code in line with the relevant EU
standards." he told.
This is all the more serious since there are still a number of
similar court cases pending.
Rehn urged "Turkish authorities amend article 301 and other vaguely
formulated articles in order to guarantee freedom of expression in
Turkey."
The Court of Cassation decided to confirm the prison sentence for Mr
Hrant Dink, editor in chief of Istanbul based bilingual,
Turkish-Armenian weekly, on the grounds that he insulted
"Turkishness" on the basis of article 301 of the new Penal Code.
Dink was sentenced to six months at the local court, and the court
later suspended the sentence justifying it with the convict's
goodwill. The high court prosecutor however demanded Dink's
acquittal, but the high court turned down the demand which relied on
the evaluation that Dink's controversial expressions were
"allegorical" rather more than insulting "Turkishness". (EK/YE)
--Boundary_(ID_Kyycu/YG0Vo1ntg6XYxhgQ)--
From: Baghdasarian