The Daily Star, Lebanon
May 28 2005

Turkish Parliament approves revised penal code

Compiled by Daily Star staff
Saturday, May 28, 2005

Turkey’s Parliament approved a revamped penal code, a key requirement
before Ankara begins European Union entry talks on October 3, but EU
diplomats said it did not meet all their concerns on human rights.

The code, which aims to bring Turkey’s criminal justice system into
line with its EU-inspired political reforms, had originally been due
to take effect on April 1 but was pulled back partly due to
complaints it tightened curbs on the media.

The new code must be approved by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and is
meant to take force on June 1. If Sezer vetoes the code, the earlier
version will come into force on that date.

A total of 346 deputies in the 550-member chamber approved the penal
code and only three voted against.

The new penal code, the first major overhaul of the 79-year-old
legislation, improves the rights of women and children and brings
higher human rights standards. It recognizes rape in marriage and
sexual harassment as crimes, and includes tougher measures against
rape, pedophilia, human traffickers and torture.

Diplomats gave the news a cautious welcome but said Turkey had
further to go to meet EU worries over human rights.

“There are still some areas where we have concerns but the good news
is that it has been approved on time. Implementation (of the new
code) is now the key,” one EU diplomat said.

Journalists said the amendments make no significant improvements. One
amendment, making it a crime to humiliate state institutions, would
even bring harsher punishments.

One new article calls for prison sentences for those who disregard
the state’s “fundamental national interests.” A reasoning attached to
the draft of that article specified that those interests could
include calling for the withdrawal of Turkish soldiers from Cyprus or
saying that Armenians were subjected to genocide during World War I.

The offense could earn three to 10 years in prison.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a top
rights watchdog, had expressed concern that language such as
“national interests” was too vague and could play into the hands of
over-zealous state prosecutors. – Agencies