Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Sept 15 2008
Court ruling on 301 case stresses criticism benefits public
An Ä°stanbul court has ruled that penal code Article 301 —
which prohibits insulting Turkishness and state institutions — must
be evaluated in its entirety when deciding whether a crime has been
committed or not.
Istanbul’s Bakırköy Court of 2nd Instance, which
acquitted two defendants in April of this year over charges of
insulting the Gendarmerie General Command (JGK) under Article 301 of
the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), recently released its justification and
reasoning for the verdict.
The court ruled that the article, when evaluated in its entirety,
falls within the limits of freedom of expression. The article has been
harshly and aggressively criticized.
The court further reasoned that it is important to set a precedent for
other cases. It emphasized that criticism leveled against some members
of the JGK was made to help reform state institutions and that this
did not violate Article 301.
The Bakırköy Court of 2nd Instance acquitted journalists
Lale SarıibrahimoÄ?lu and Ahmet Å?ık in its
second court hearing on April 3 of this year, but only recently
released its detailed reasoning behind the decision.
SarıibrahimoÄ?lu is a columnist for both Today’s Zaman
and the Taraf daily as well as the Turkey correspondent for the
UK-based Jane’s Defence Weekly.
The Turkish courts’ practice of releasing detailed reasons for their
verdicts weeks or months after the verdict is rendered is also
problematic. A Western diplomat told Today’s Zaman that courts should
release justifications for their decisions the moment that they make
their ruling.
Nevertheless, the case hinges on remarks made by
SarıibrahimoÄ?lu to the now-closed Nokta newsweekly
political magazine during an interview with journalist
Å?ık that were published in the Feb. 8, 2007 edition
under the heading `The military should withdraw its hand from internal
security.’
SarıibrahimoÄ ?lu criticized images used by the media in
which both gendarmerie and police officers posed with the alleged
murderer of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, who was
assassinated in January of last year.
`While police officers were suspended, military personnel were only
transferred to other posts. When you examine this picture, you see a
concern for protecting not only the personnel, but an institution —
moreover, a mentality. … We saw it once again with the Dink
investigation; there are sordid and rotten ones in each of the three
institutions that should be removed,’ SarıibrahimoÄ?lu
said.
The prosecutor at the time accepted the complaint filed by the JGK on
grounds that she allegedly insulted one of the country’s security
organizations. The court case against her was then opened, based on
the infamous Article 301 of the TCK, which penalizes the denigration
of `Turkishness’ and state institutions, including the Turkish Armed
Forces (TSK).
When a complaint is filed by the TSK, prosecutors — out of
psychological fear — act immediately against those critical of their
country’s institutions, Lawyer Ã`mit KardaÅ?, a retired
military judge, told Today’s Zaman.
Appearing in court with her lawyer, KardaÅ?,
SarıibrahimoÄ?lu rejected accusations leveled against
her. `I don’t accept the accusations. I’ve been a journalist for 30
years. During the interview I indicated to Å?ık that some
parts of our interview were off the record and I had a friendly chat
with him, but he published off-the-record parts as well. However, I
was critical of some institutions in the interview, and when it is
taken into consideration as a whole, it aims to give suggestions for
the improvement in these institutions. Nevertheless, only a paragraph
has been picked out to wrongly accuse me. I had no intention of
denigrating any institution, and the accusation is based on that
premise. I don’t accept it. I’m not guilty,’ she said.
The prosecutor demanded a sentence of up to three years in prison.
In the meantime, KardaÅ? noted that over 30 pending 301 cases
have been approved by the Justice Ministry and will be heard by courts
even though an amendment with some improvements was made to the
article several months ago.
`This proves that the amended version of Article 301 is window
dressing and that it did not improve Turkey’s image on human
rights. Article 301 should have been eliminated altogether,’
KardaÅ? said.
As part of attempts to meet the democratic criteria of the European
Union, Parliament passed a law amending Article 301, necessitating
that permission be given by the Justice Ministry before any cases
based on Article 301 can be opened.
15 September 2008, Monday
TODAY’S ZAMAN ANKARA