Voice of America
July 12 2006

EU Repeats Warning to Turkey on Freedom of Speech
By VOA News

The European Union has again warned Turkey over freedom of speech
provisions in its penal code, after Turkey’s high court upheld the
conviction of a journalist accused of insulting the country’s
national identity.

The warning came Wednesday from EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli
Rehn, one day after the high court confirmed a six-month jail term
for an Armenian-Turkish journalist.

The journalist, Hrant Dink, was convicted last year of attempting to
influence the judiciary, after his bilingual newspaper ran stories
criticizing a law making it a crime to insult "Turkishness."

The EU has frequently warned Turkey that its efforts to join the
25-nation trading bloc could be hampered by the law, which sets
penalties for insulting the republic or its officials.

Rehn said the EU will review the situation later this year in a
progress report on Turkey’s accession talks.