Central Asian and Southern Caucasus Freedom of Expression Network
(CASCFEN), Azerbaijan
March 23 2005
IPI concerned by introduction of new Turkish Penal Code
Published: 23.03.2005
CASCFEN, Baku, 23.03.2005 — Johann P. Fritz, the Director of the
Vienna based International Press Institute (IPI) has addressed to
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey in regard to Turkish
Penal Code’s introduction. Following is the text of the letter sent
on 23 March 2005:
“The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of
editors, media executives and leading journalists, is deeply
concerned about the introduction of a new Turkish Penal Code (TCK)
and the continued criminal prosecution of a number of journalists.
The new TCK was adopted last year and will come into force on 1
April. According to reports, the new TCK contains provisions to
punish journalists with prison sentences for their work, as well as
vague wording that could make it easier for the authorities to
suppress the media. The new TCK is the first change to the Penal Code
in 78 years and it revamps Turkey’s criminal laws.
According to information before IPI, the new penal code has 30
articles that threaten press freedom. In the face of these changes,
the Turkish Journalists Association and the Turkish Press Council
have heavily criticised the new TCK.
On 14 March, the Turkish Journalists Association sent a letter
criticising the new TCK to the Minister of Justice, Cemil Cicek. The
minister has promised to consider the complaints and make the
necessary changes.
The Journalists Association maintains that certain articles must be
changed because they prevent journalists from writing about on-going
police investigations. Furthermore, article 125 on “insult” states
that any criticism of a political figure might be interpreted as a
personal insult and could lead to the journalist being imprisoned.
The minimum sentence for committing a crime “against a state official
because of his or her post” is one year in prison.
In addition, the new TCK increases prison sentences where the media
are involved and is in stark contrast to the Press Law. As an
example, where journalists write about an on-going police
investigation, the current Press Law (article 19) provides for large
fines, while the new TCK (article 288) carries prison sentences from
six months to three years.
In this connection, two journalists for the Milliyet daily, Tolga
Sardan and Gokser Tahincioglu, face charges for writing articles
about alleged links between Turkish mafia boss Alaattin Cakici, the
National Information Agency (MYT) and the Court of Appeals.
Hürriyet reporters Toygun Atilla and Cetin Aydin, as well as editor
Necdet Tatlican, are also on trial for allegedly violating the
secrecy of an on-going police investigation in a separate case
involving alleged links between state institutions and the mafia.
The journalists were prosecuted because they published tapes of
telephone conversations that reveal this relationship. They are
accused of breaching article 4422 of the Penal Code that is related
to the fight against organised crime. While they have cited facts in
their articles that shed light on the investigation, they are liable
for breaking the law because the police investigation had not been
concluded. Now the journalists face imprisonment. The case is the
first time that journalists have been prosecuted under the Penal Code
and not sued according to the Press Law.
The new TCK also contains clauses for acting against the “basic
national interest” in return for material benefits from foreigners.
Under article 220, individuals found guilty of setting up an
organisation that aims to commit crimes, or disseminating propaganda
for such an organisation, are given prison sentences, which are
increased by half, if the propaganda is disseminated by media
outlets.
Many other articles also increase the prison sentence by half if the
offence was committed through the media. Thus, article 305 can be
used to charge people who write about controversial issues, such as
Turkish troops in Cyprus or the Armenian genocide; article 318 can be
used to charge individuals, who write critical pieces about the
military.
IPI calls on Your Excellency to take into account the demands of the
Turkish journalists and to amend the Penal Code to decriminalise
defamation. IPI believes criminal insult laws to be an anachronism
that should be removed from every legal system. They should not exist
in a country seeking to join the European Union and no journalist
should have the stigma of a criminal record for merely expressing his
or her opinions.
By keeping defamation as a criminal offence, journalists are forced
to weigh up the public interest of publishing against the fear of
criminal prosecution. This will only encourage greater
self-censorship in Turkey and this is to the detriment of not only
the journalism profession, but also the country’s readership which
will be deprived of valuable information.
IPI would also like to remind Your Excellency that Article 19 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the
right to “seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any
media and regardless of frontiers.””
–Boundary_(ID_1ZLRMFd3d750OhsgzJppvA)–