APOLOGIZING TO ARMENIANS NOT A CRIME

BIAnet
ties/119379-apologizing-to-armenians-not-a-crime
J an 11 2010
Turkey

The Court of Appeals decided that the internet signature campaign
"I apologize to the Armenians" does not constitute a crime. If the
Sincan 1st High Criminal Court accepts the decision, no trial will
be launched against the organizers of the campaign which has been
supported by the signatures of 30,000 people already.

Erol ONDEROÄ~^LU hukuk@bianet.org Ankara – BÄ°A News Center11 January
2010, Monday The Court of Appeals 9th Criminal Office decided that
the internet signature campaign "I apologize to the Armenians"
(‘Erminilerden Ozur Diliyorum’) does not imply any elements of crime.

A group of Turkish intellectuals initiated the campaign regarding
the events of 1915. More than 30,000 people have already supported
the campaign with their signatures.

The campaign was started in 2008 and caught on in various sections of
society, supported by journalist Ali Bayramoglu, Prof. Baskın Oran,
Prof. Ahmet Ä°nsel and Dr. Cengiz Aktar to name just a few.

The campaign sent the following message to the Armenian community:
"I cannot reconcile my conscience to denial of and insensitivity
about the great Ottoman disaster the Armenians were imposed to in
1915. I reject this injustice and share the feelings and grief of my
Armenian brothers and sisters. I apologize to them".

Prosecution referred to "freedom of thought", yet…

Ankara Public Prosecutor Abdulvahap Yaren had launched an investigation
into campaign-related crimes upon article 301 of the Turkish Criminal
Court (TCK). However, the case was dropped, reasoning that, "In
a democratic society, opposing ideas are also protected under the
aspect of freedom of thought".

The complaint was filed by Hasan Huseyin Satır, Sabahat Ozgur,
Mehmet Ä°nal Kolburan, Huseyin Erdogan, Serdar Orhaner and KurÅ~_at
Karacabey from Ankara. The complainants demanded to punish the people
who organized and signed the joint petition under charges of "publicly
humiliating the Turkish nation".

Prosecutor insisted on dropping the case However, upon the lodged
appeal the Sincan 1st High Criminal Court abolished the order of nolle
prosequi and stated that the court was going to decide whether the
offence of "publicly humiliating ‘Turkishness’" was constituted by
the campaign. The court sent the file to the Ankara Public Prosecution
in order to launch an investigation into the suspects.

Prosecutor Yaren insisted on the order of nolle prosequi. He wanted
the Ministry of Justice to apply to the Court of Appeals with the
demand to overrule the court’s decision for the public benefit.

Court of Appeals: no harm done, no right to appeal Hereupon, the file
was transferred to the Court of Appeals 9th Criminal Office and the
Court of Appeals Public Prosecution requested to overrule the decision
of the Sincan 1st High Criminal Court.

As reported by Radikal newspaper journalist Mesut Hasan Benli, the
Criminal Office indicated that there were no legal means for an appeal
against the decision since nobody had been harmed directly.

The Court of Appeals sent the file to the Sincan 1st High Criminal
Court after the decision. If the court accepts the decision, no case
will be filed against the organizers of the campaign. In case of an
appeal the file will be taken to the Court of Appeals General Criminal
Council to reach a final decision.