PanARMENIAN.Net
Turkish prosecutor says apology petition for Armenian Genocide legal
11.03.2009 22:29 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ An Ankara prosecutor who argues that the Armenia
apology petition campaign launched late last year is not illegal has
asked the Justice Ministry to issue a written directive to that
effect, Hurriyet Daily News reports. The "I apologize" campaign was
launched Dec. 15. Though it has drawn harsh criticism within Turkey,
approximately 29,000 people, including many intellectuals and
journalists, have signed the petition, which reads in part: "My
conscience does not accept the insensitivity showed to and the denial
of the Great Catastrophe that the Armenians were subjected to in
1915."
A complaint was lodged against the organizers of the petition
campaign. After a preliminary inquiry, Ankara Prosecutor Nadi
Türkaslan said the petition is protected as a freedom of
expression and thus the organizers could not be prosecuted.
On March 3, a court overturned the prosecutor’s finding, saying that
criminal proceedings could be initiated against the organizers. The
decision allows prosecutors to seek the permission of Justice Minister
Mehmet Ali Å?ahin to launch an investigation.
Charges made against the organizers will be based on penal code
Article 301, which criminalizes insulting Turkishness and also
requires ministerial approval to start any proceedings. Prosecutor
Türkaslan, in a letter to the Justice Ministry, called for a
directive to annul the ruling and asked that the case be sent to the
Supreme Court of Appeals.