TURKEY: NEW CODE PENALISES FREE EXPRESSION
IFEX
Turkey's bid to join the European Union has come under renewed criticism following reports that legal reforms aimed at satisfying EU standards on human rights are failing to safeguard freedom of expression and press freedom.
International PEN's Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) says Turkey's amended Penal Code, enacted in June 2005, has not led to fewer court cases brought against writers, publishers and journalists. In fact, the opposite seems to be true. Growing numbers of individuals are being sued under Article 301, which penalises those who insult the military and the State.
The Article states, "A person who explicitly insults being a Turk, the Republic or the Turkish Grand National Assembly, shall be imposed a penalty of imprisonment for a term of six months to three years."
[...]
WiPC says there are about 60 individuals who are facing court proceedings in Turkey because of what they wrote or published.
They include publisher Ragip Zarakolu, newspaper editor Ersen Korkmaz, Rahmi Yildirim, Emin Karaca and Sehmus Ülek, vice-president of the human rights group Mazlum-Der.
In its latest report on Turkey's progress toward meeting EU membership criteria, the EU says the Penal Code will have to be amended if prosecutors continue to open new cases against individuals who express their opinions peacefully.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
Turkey's bid to join the European Union has come under renewed criticism following reports that legal reforms aimed at satisfying EU standards on human rights are failing to safeguard freedom of expression and press freedom.
International PEN's Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) says Turkey's amended Penal Code, enacted in June 2005, has not led to fewer court cases brought against writers, publishers and journalists. In fact, the opposite seems to be true. Growing numbers of individuals are being sued under Article 301, which penalises those who insult the military and the State.
The Article states, "A person who explicitly insults being a Turk, the Republic or the Turkish Grand National Assembly, shall be imposed a penalty of imprisonment for a term of six months to three years."
[...]
WiPC says there are about 60 individuals who are facing court proceedings in Turkey because of what they wrote or published.
They include publisher Ragip Zarakolu, newspaper editor Ersen Korkmaz, Rahmi Yildirim, Emin Karaca and Sehmus Ülek, vice-president of the human rights group Mazlum-Der.
In its latest report on Turkey's progress toward meeting EU membership criteria, the EU says the Penal Code will have to be amended if prosecutors continue to open new cases against individuals who express their opinions peacefully.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 6:37 AM
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