Zaman Online, Turkey
March 25 2006
AI: Freedom of Expression in Turkey is Limited
By Foreign News Desk, Istanbul
Published: Saturday, March 25, 2006
zaman.com
The Amnesty International, AI, launched a worldwide campaign to
collect as many signatures as possible against Article 301 of the
Turkish Penalty Code (TCK).
The human rights watchdog organization will ask the international
community to pressure Turkish officials to revoke Article 301, a
clause in the penal code of the country that the organization
believes restricts the freedom of expression.
The human rights supporters, publishers, writers, and journalists
were taken to court because they tried to deconstruct the official
records of history or because they caricaturized officials, AI told.
There is, however, slight improvement in the field of human rights
that Turkey should be rewarded for.
When prominent author Orhan Pamuk was acquitted of speaking about the
number of Armenians and Kurds killed in the past, Turkey achieved a
slight advancement on the freedom of speech. But, AI called the
Turkish officials to invalidate Article 301 and to drop charges
against people who objected to this clause in the TCK.
The signature campaign will continue from April 1 to 10.