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TURKISH PARLIAMENT TO DISCUSS TCK ARTICLE 301
Today's Zaman, Turkey
April 29 2008
Parliament will discuss a bill seeking to amend Turkish Penal Code
(TCK) Article 301, which penalizes "insulting Turkishness," this week.
Sadullah Ergin, the deputy chairman of the Justice and Development
Party (AK Party) parliamentary group, spoke to Today's Zaman about the
issue, revealing that Parliament will gather on Tuesday or Wednesday
in order to discuss the amendment of Article 301, long the subject
of criticism for limiting freedom of expression.
Under the proposed change, the approval of the justice minister
will be necessary for a prosecutor to proceed with a 301-related
investigation. If the justice minister does not allow a 301-related
probe, the accused might not have legal troubles, but could still
face social pressure for having allegedly insulted Turkishness.
Other changes in the draft include making it a crime to insult the
"Turkish nation," instead of the ambiguous term "Turkishness,"
and lowering the maximum jail sentence for such an insult to two
years from three. Although no one has ever been sent to jail on
a 301-related charge, the publicity of such cases has done great
damage to individuals who were suspects in these trials. Some like,
Armenian-Turkish editor Hrant Dink, have paid dearly. Dink, who was
tried for insulting Turkish identity in 2006, was shot dead by a
militant nationalist in January of last year.
While the bill was under review of the Parliamentary Justice
Commission, opposition party members harshly criticized the
ruling party, accusing it of changing Article 301 according to
the demands of the European Union and allowing "Turkishness" to be
insulted. Opposition parties Republican People's Party (CHP) and the
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) both oppose the amendment.
Today's Zaman, Turkey
April 29 2008
Parliament will discuss a bill seeking to amend Turkish Penal Code
(TCK) Article 301, which penalizes "insulting Turkishness," this week.
Sadullah Ergin, the deputy chairman of the Justice and Development
Party (AK Party) parliamentary group, spoke to Today's Zaman about the
issue, revealing that Parliament will gather on Tuesday or Wednesday
in order to discuss the amendment of Article 301, long the subject
of criticism for limiting freedom of expression.
Under the proposed change, the approval of the justice minister
will be necessary for a prosecutor to proceed with a 301-related
investigation. If the justice minister does not allow a 301-related
probe, the accused might not have legal troubles, but could still
face social pressure for having allegedly insulted Turkishness.
Other changes in the draft include making it a crime to insult the
"Turkish nation," instead of the ambiguous term "Turkishness,"
and lowering the maximum jail sentence for such an insult to two
years from three. Although no one has ever been sent to jail on
a 301-related charge, the publicity of such cases has done great
damage to individuals who were suspects in these trials. Some like,
Armenian-Turkish editor Hrant Dink, have paid dearly. Dink, who was
tried for insulting Turkish identity in 2006, was shot dead by a
militant nationalist in January of last year.
While the bill was under review of the Parliamentary Justice
Commission, opposition party members harshly criticized the
ruling party, accusing it of changing Article 301 according to
the demands of the European Union and allowing "Turkishness" to be
insulted. Opposition parties Republican People's Party (CHP) and the
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) both oppose the amendment.