PanARMENIAN.Net
CoE welcomed Turkey’s article 301 amendments
03.05.2008 15:07 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Council of Europe welcomed the
recent amendments to the controversial article 301 of
the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) which criminalized
insulting "Turkishness," but added the amendment
doesn’t alleviate all its concerns.
CoE Secretary General Terry Davis said in a written
statement he released on Friday that the recent
amendments to article 301 of the Turkish penal code
which criminalizes insults to the Turkish nation
testify to the readiness of the Turkish authorities to
review their legislation against the background of
their obligations as a member of the Council of Europe
and a party to the European Convention on Human
Rights.
`This is to be welcomed. However, although an analysis
of the new wording indicates some progress in this
respect, it does not alleviate all concerns about
excessive restrictions of the freedom of expression,
as guaranteed by article 10 of the European Convention
on Human Rights," he added.
Davis said the decisive test of compliance with
Council of Europe standards will be the interpretation
of the new article 301 by the Turkish courts, and the
Council will follow the situation very closely, the
CoE communication unit reports.
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
