International Freedom of Expression eXpress IFEX, Canada
Nov 11 2006

CAPSULE REPORT: EU report could help promote press freedom, says RSF

Français: RAPPORT CAPSULE: Un rapport de l’UE pourrait faire avancer
la liberté d’expression, selon RSF
Country/Topic: Turkey
Date: 10 November 2006
Source: Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Person(s):
Target(s):
Type(s) of violation(s):
Urgency: Bulletin
(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 9 November 2006 RSF press release:

EU criticises Turkish penal code article under which 65 people have
been prosecuted

The latest European Commission report on Turkey’s progress in its
negotiations to join the EU, together with recent comments by Prime
Minister Erdogan, have revived hopes of amendments to the parts of
the Turkish penal code that most violate freedom of expression.

Reporters Without Borders today welcomed a report on EU enlargement
which the European Commission issued yesterday, saying it could help
to promote press freedom in Turkey. While conditioning further
membership talks on Turkey’s respecting all of its commitments on
Cyprus, the report clearly says in point 11 that "significant further
efforts are needed, in particular on freedom of expression."

Article 301 of Turkey’s penal code, which penalises "humiliating
Turkish identity, the republic, and the organs and institutions of
the state," is specifically mentioned in the report. The conclusions
say: "freedom of expression in line with European standards is not
yet guaranteed by the present legal framework (. . .). Article 301
and other provisions of the Turkish penal code that restrict freedom
of expression need to be brought in line with the European Convention
of Human Rights (ECHR)."

Reporters Without Borders said: "We can only endorse these
conclusions, as Article 301 allows the law to be used to control the
activity of the media. The proof is in the fact that 65 people,
including many journalists and writers, have been prosecuted in
Turkey since it took effect on 1 June 2005. Turkey’s laws must meet
European standards as regards basic freedoms such as freedom of
expression."

The trials of several intellectuals – novelists Orhan Pamuk and Elif
Shafak, the journalist of Armenian origin Hrant Dink, and five
columnists with the leading dailies "Milliyet" and "Radikal" (Erol
Katircioglu, Murat Belge, Haluk Sahin, Hasan Cemal and Smet Berkan) –
gave rise to scenes of violence between their supporters and
supporters of the ultra-nationalist lawyers’ union that brought the
complaints against Pamuk and Shafak.

Not only do the Turkish courts interpret Article 301 in the most
draconian manner, but they also fail to apply Section 4 of the
article, which stipulates that "expression of thought in the form of
criticism cannot be penalised."

The Turkish government and society are split on this issue. Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party has not
heeded the criticism and warnings coming from press freedom groups
and civil society for the past two years.

But Erdogan finally took a position on the issue in the run-up to the
publication of the EU report and after the protests around Shafak’s
trial and the awarding of the Nobel prize for literature to Pamuk. He
met with representatives of trade unions and medical associations,
including the Revolutionary Confederation of Workers Unions (Disk)
and the Turkish Confederation of Employers Unions (Tisk), on 5
November in Istanbul to discuss the possibility of amending Article
301.

After the meeting, he said he was ready to receive proposals designed
to make the article more concrete "if problems exist due to the fact
that it is abstract." He added that, "we will look at options in line
with the spirit of the reforms in the Article 301 framework."

This pleased EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn of Finland. He
said he was "satisfied by Erdogan’s personal commitment to freedom of
expression and to his country’s participation in the EU," adding
that, "we are waiting for this intention to be supported by concrete
steps and for concrete decisions to be taken."

Several journalists who have been convicted under Article 301 say
they will appeal the decision to the European Court of Human Rights
on the grounds that it violates Article 10 of the Convention. Among
the journalists are Dink, publisher of the Armenian weekly "Agos",
who was given a suspended sentence of six months in prison on 7
October 2005 for a series of articles entitled "Armenian Identity",
as well as Burak Bekdil, a columnist for the English-language
"Turkish Daily News", who received a 20-month suspended sentence –
upheld by the highest appeal court in October 2005 – for a column
dealing with the lack of confidence of Turkish citizens in their
judicial system.

Meanwhile, lawyer Eren Keskin, former president of the Istanbul
branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD), faces prison for
refusing to pay a fine of about 3,300 euros for comments she made in
Cologne in 2002, implicating Turkish security forces in a number of
rape cases in the mainly-Kurdish area of southeast Anatolia.

"I will not pay this fine to buy my freedom," she has been quoted as
saying.

Article 301, entitled "Humiliation of Turkish identity, the republic,
and the organs and institutions of the state", makes "humiliating the
government and judicial organs of the state or the police or military
structures" punishable by six months to three years in prison.

MORE INFORMATION:

For further information, contact Elsa Vidal at RSF, 5, rue Geoffroy
Marie, Paris 75009, France, tel: +33 1 44 83 84 67, fax: +33 1 45 23
11 51, e-mail: europe@rsf.org, Internet: