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ETHNICITY, SEXUAL ORIENTATION EXCLUDED IN HATE CRIME DRAFT PRESENTED TO TURKISH CABINET
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Oct 27 2013
ANKARA - Radikal
A draft presented to the Cabinet concerning hate crimes does not
include provisions for those targeted because of their sexual
orientation. DHA photo A draft presented to the Cabinet concerning
hate crimes does not include provisions for those targeted because
of their sexual orientation or ethnic identity.
The draft, which designates "hate and prejudice" as an aggravation
cause for crimes, was presented as one of the reforms that government
vowed to implement as part of its "democracy package."
However, hate and prejudice crimes are defined in the draft as
"crimes committed based on someone's or some group's language,
race, nationality, skin color, gender, disability, political views,
philosophical beliefs or religion," excluding those based on ethnicity
and sexual orientation, different to many European countries.
With the exclusion of ethnicity as a characteristic that could be
basis of a hate crime, assaults against ethnic minorities in Turkey
that don't have a nation recognized by the United Nations would be
charged with a regular punishment. For example, if an Armenian person
in Turkey is targeted for being an Armenian, the crime committed
against them will be regarded as a hate crime and whatever the crime
is, its penalty would be aggravated.
On the hand, the largest ethnic minority in Turkey, Kurds, is not
included in the regulation, as it does not have a U.N.-recognized
country.
Although gender is included, the same is true for gays and lesbians,
as attacking a person based on their sexual orientation is not regarded
as a hate or prejudice crime, according to the draft.
After the long-running public debates on what would be the criteria to
define hate crimes, which are entering into the Turkish legal system
for the first time, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin had said the
criteria of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) would be taken as a model. However, the OSCE's definitions
include crimes motivated by both ethnicity and sexual orientation.
"A hate crime is a crime that is intolerance towards a certain group
within society. A protected characteristic is a fundamental or core
characteristic that is shared by a group, such as 'race,' religion,
ethnicity, language or sexual orientation," the institution states
on its website.
The tightening of hate crime penalties was announced by Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as part of the "democracy package,"
which was presented as an initiative to extend rights given to Turkey's
disadvantaged minorities.
Although most of the unveiled reforms have been hailed, some find the
promises insufficient and accuse the government of lacking willingness
to target the real issues facing Turkey.
October/27/2013
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Oct 27 2013
ANKARA - Radikal
A draft presented to the Cabinet concerning hate crimes does not
include provisions for those targeted because of their sexual
orientation. DHA photo A draft presented to the Cabinet concerning
hate crimes does not include provisions for those targeted because
of their sexual orientation or ethnic identity.
The draft, which designates "hate and prejudice" as an aggravation
cause for crimes, was presented as one of the reforms that government
vowed to implement as part of its "democracy package."
However, hate and prejudice crimes are defined in the draft as
"crimes committed based on someone's or some group's language,
race, nationality, skin color, gender, disability, political views,
philosophical beliefs or religion," excluding those based on ethnicity
and sexual orientation, different to many European countries.
With the exclusion of ethnicity as a characteristic that could be
basis of a hate crime, assaults against ethnic minorities in Turkey
that don't have a nation recognized by the United Nations would be
charged with a regular punishment. For example, if an Armenian person
in Turkey is targeted for being an Armenian, the crime committed
against them will be regarded as a hate crime and whatever the crime
is, its penalty would be aggravated.
On the hand, the largest ethnic minority in Turkey, Kurds, is not
included in the regulation, as it does not have a U.N.-recognized
country.
Although gender is included, the same is true for gays and lesbians,
as attacking a person based on their sexual orientation is not regarded
as a hate or prejudice crime, according to the draft.
After the long-running public debates on what would be the criteria to
define hate crimes, which are entering into the Turkish legal system
for the first time, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin had said the
criteria of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) would be taken as a model. However, the OSCE's definitions
include crimes motivated by both ethnicity and sexual orientation.
"A hate crime is a crime that is intolerance towards a certain group
within society. A protected characteristic is a fundamental or core
characteristic that is shared by a group, such as 'race,' religion,
ethnicity, language or sexual orientation," the institution states
on its website.
The tightening of hate crime penalties was announced by Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as part of the "democracy package,"
which was presented as an initiative to extend rights given to Turkey's
disadvantaged minorities.
Although most of the unveiled reforms have been hailed, some find the
promises insufficient and accuse the government of lacking willingness
to target the real issues facing Turkey.
October/27/2013