Financial Times, UK
March 30 2005

Turkey’s new penal code strikes a liberal note
By Vincent Boland
Published: March 30 2005 03:00 |

Turkey’s new penal code,a cornerstone of the government’s drive
toward European Union membership, comes into force tomorrow, aiming
to introduce a more liberal and less punitive criminal justice
system.

The revised code, replacing one dating from the 1920s, gives greater
recognition to the rights of individuals. Human rights groups say it
contains many progressive measures, including stiffer penalties for
torture and abuses of civil and human rights, and more protection for
women and children.

But the new code also illustrates the difficulties this
rigidly-governed country faces in balancing individual rights against
the protection of the state.

The code includes terms of imprisonment for “insulting” the state and
its institutions, which human rights groups say are inappropriate for
a country seeking to become a liberal democracy acceptable to other
EU states.

Burak Bekdil, a newspaper columnist, quipped recently: “Soon, under
the new penal code, it will be an offence to call a bald man a bald
man.”

Among the issues that could land journalists in jail, should a
prosecutor take exception to something they write, are any calls for
the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Cyprus or support for claims of
the genocide of Armenians.

Already, Turkey’s press council and Amnesty International have called
for some articles in the new code to be revised, fearing they
represent a threat to press freedom.

In addition, the code will face a stiff test of its credibility,
since much depends on how it is implemented by the courts and how the
police, perhaps the most incorrigible and politicised arm of the
bureaucracy, modifies its behaviour in accordance with the new rules.

The process of revising the old penal code demonstrated how haphazard
Turkey’s reform process can be.

When the revisions were being debated last summer, the government
found itself engulfed in a row following a proposal from Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, the prime minister, to make adultery a criminal offence,
deflecting public attention from other measures in the code.

The government also often ordered changes without consulting civil
rights and other interest groups. The entire package was then rushed
for approval by parliament in time to meet a December 17 deadline
imposed by the EU.

Those flaws were highlighted last week by Amnesty International,
which said EU pressure led to “insufficient consultation with members
of civil society” and “may have contributed to the continuing
problems in the law.”

Nevertheless, constitutional scholars say the revised code is a good
first building block for a modern system of criminal justice.

Ergun Ozbudun, a professor of constitutional law at Bilkent
University, says the new code, and a series of amendments to the
constitution in the past few years, including the formal abolition of
the death penalty, have created a more progressive legal climate that
substantially meets European Union standards.

“The penal code is our basic criminal law, and having a more liberal
law is a step in the right direction,” he says.

Diplomats agree, but add that the important issue after the revised
code comes into force will be how it is implemented.

Ensuring the implementation of a variety of reforms already approved
by parliament is proving difficult, and is a particular focus of
scrutiny by the EU and civil and human rights groups.

The sight of police officers beating women demonstrators at a rally
in Istanbul this month, almost under the eyes of a visiting Brussels
delegation, has also cast the spotlight on how the revised penal code
will reform policing and the public perception of the police.

Mustafa Aydin, an academic at Ankara University, says many of the
reforms Turkey has undertaken or plans to undertake, such as changes
to the penal code, affect the police.

He fears there may be resentment among officers about how these
reforms restrict their traditional ways of working, such as the
frequent use of force against demonstrators.

Mr Aydin says that only a firm commitment from the top levels of
government to impose changes on how police operate will ensure
change.

“Turkish police are bullies, but they could easily be bullied
themselves if someone slammed his fist on the table and started
ordering them about,” he says.