TURKEY: GOVERNMENT TO MODIFY PENAL CODE FOR EU ENTRY

Adnkronos International Italia, Italy
Oct 4 2007

Ankara, 3 Oct. (AKI) – The Turkish Government is reportedly about
to modify a controversial article of its penal code in a bid to lift
its chances of joining the European Union, according to the Turkish
Daily News.

The daily newspaper leaked the news quoting anonymous sources from
the leadership of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP),
the party of premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan and president Abdullah Gul.

The paper said the government would introduce radical changes to
Article 301 of Turkey’s penal code before the annual report of the
European Commission on the state of negotiations due in early November.

Article 301 makes it a crime to insult "Turkishness", the government,
the judiciary and the military and was one of several law reforms
that took effect in June 2005.

It has been used in a number of high profile cases including the
one against Nobel prize winner Orhan Pamuk, writer Elif Shafak and
Turkish Armenian journalist, Hrant Dink, who was allegedly murdered
by an ultranationalist in January this year.

According to the Turkish Daily News, the AKP has no intention of
eliminating the law, simply substituting the concept of "Turkish
identity" with "Turkish nation".

Under the current law, the public prosecutor can launch investigations
based on the law but under the changes, the approval of the Justice
Minister would also be needed before the start of any inquiry.

Another proposal would replace a prison term with a fine, but the
AKP questioned whether this reform would be approved.

Under Article 301, a person found guilty of denigrating "Turkishness",
the government, judiciary or the military can face a prison term of
between six months and three years.

In cases where it is found to have occurred outside Turkey, the jail
term can be increased by a third.

Orhan Pamuk (Photo) was charged under Turkish law in December 2005
after making statements to a Swiss magazine about the Turkish genocide
of Armenians and Kurds during World War I. The charges were later
dropped, however.

In 2006 author Elif Safak and the late journalist Hrant Dink were
prosecuted in separate cases for "insulting Turkishness".

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