Article 301 Remains: A Damaging Step For Freedom Of Expression
The president ratified the revision of Article 301, which forbids “denigrating Turkishness, the Republic, the institutions and organs of the State” and he sent it back to the prime ministry to be published.
It was revised to adapt to EU, but it caused more problems
Article 301 was born during the course of adapting to the norms of the European Union. Article 159 of the old Turkish Penal Code was eventually changed completely to become the Article 301 on June 1, 2005. However, following the reactions it received and the many culprits and sentences it created in three years, the lawmakers had to revise Article 301.
The Minister of Justice Mehmet Ali Şahin had explained in a response to a motion that in last five years six thousand seventy five individuals were tried under the 159 revision and Article 301. Seven hundred forty five of them were sentenced.
While some organizations for rights, among them Helsinki Citizens Assembly (HYD), the Human Rights Association (İHD), the Organization of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed People (MAZLUMDER), the Joint Platform for Human Rights (İHOP) connected to the Turkish branch of Amnesty International, the Initiative Against Thought Crime, Say Stop to Racism and Nationalism (DurDe), stated that Article 301 must be annulled, the government ignored these calls.
Passed with 250 votes against 65
Despite objections from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the Turkish Parliament (TBMM) passed the bill to revise Article 301 with 250 votes against 65 on April 29.
In the new article, the expressions of “Turkish Nation” and “the State of the Turkish Republic” replaced the expressions of “Turkishness” and “The Republic”, respectively, while the title of the article was changed to “Denigrating the Turkish Nation, The State of the Turkish Republic, the institutions and organs of the State.”
The new form of Article 301 became:
“The person who denigrates openly the Turkish Nation, the State of the Turkish Republic or the Grand Assembly of Turkey and the judicial institutions of the State shall be punishable by imprisonment from 6 months to 2 years. The persons who denigrate the military and police organizations of the State will too receive the same punishment.
Expressions of thought with the intention to critique shall not constitute a crime.
The prosecution under this article will require the approval of the Ministry of Justice.”
The investigations and the cases will be taken to the Criminal Court of Peace
According to the new arrangement, the permission to open a case will be given by the Ministry of Justice. It is expected that as the revision goes into effect, the investigations that were opened since “they contained judgments to the advantage of the culprit” and the cases that were finalized will be taken up again.
Since the punishment time was lowered from three years to two years, the new cases will be in the jurisdiction of the Criminal Court of Peace and the cases that are still open at the Criminal Court of First Instance will be transferred accordingly. (EÖ/GG/TB)