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Turkey: In support of freedom of expression Media information

Amnesty International Press release, 03/24/2006

>From 1-10 April 2006, Amnesty International groups around the world
will be asking members of the public to sign postcards urging the
Turkish authorities to abolish Article 301 of the Turkish penal code.

Amnesty International believes that Article 301 of the Turkish Penal
Code poses a threat to the fundamental right to freedom of
expression. Individuals including human rights defenders, publishers,
prominent writers, and journalists, are being prosecuted because they
have dared to discuss publicly the “official” version of the country’s
history or the role of the army, or have caricatured state officials.

The case against Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk for comments on the
deaths of Kurds and Armenians in Turkey has been dropped. However,
this is too small a step on the road to freedom of expression.

Amnesty International members are appealing to members of the public
to put pressure on the Turkish authorities to immediately stop
prosecutions against individuals under the article and to abolish it
in its entirety.

For more information, please see:
Turkey: Court drops case against novelist Orhan Pamuk (AI Index: EUR
44/001/2006)
Turkey: Article 301 is a threat to freedom of expression and must be
repealed now! (AI Index: EUR 44/035/2005)
Turkey: Article 301: How the law on `denigrating Turkishness’ is an insult
to free expression (AI Index: EUR 44/003/2006)

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress