TURKEY LIKELY TO AMEND ARTICLE 301 NEXT WEEK

Hurriyet
April 22 2008
Turkey

Turkey’s justice minister expressed thought on Tuesday that an
amendment to Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) might be
adopted in the following week, the Anatolian Agency reported.

Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said Turkish parliament might pass
an amendment to the article in the following week.

Turkish parliament’s justice committee on Friday accepted the bill
to amend the controversial Article 301.

"The amendment adopted by the Parliament’s Justice Committee was very
close to suggestions of the press organs, and therefore I am pleased
to see that it may meet expectations," he told reporters.

Sahin said the article actually related to journalists, authors and
intellectuals.

Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code criminalizes insulting
"Turkishness". Under the amendments proposed by the government,
the term "Turkishness" will be replaced by the "Turkish nation,"
and the term "Republic" will be replaced with "State of the Republic
of Turkey."

The committee agreed to make the justice minister responsible to
approve any prosecution under the law. The initial proposal by the
government sought president’s greenlight for prosecutors before they
could press any charges related with the article. The bill also lowers
the maximum punishment from three to two years, opening the way for
the postponement of the prison term of those convicted under 301.

The European Union has been calling on Turkey to amend Article 301,
which has been the basis for charges against Turkish writers and
journalists including Hrant Dink, Elif Safak and Orhan Pamuk.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress