SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Turkey's parliament has accepted the government's reform of a law used in recent years to persecute writers and political dissidents. The law against "insulting Turkishness" is now a law against "insulting the Turkish nation." Whether it will help Turkey join the EU is an open question.
A long-awaited change to a law against "insulting Turkishness" was passed early Wednesday morning by Turkey's parliament, though writers and activists say the revision isn't strong enough. Critics of the law have long considered it a curtailment of free speech in Turkey and a major obstacle to Ankara's ambition to join the European Union.
Legislators voted 250-65 in favor of amending Article 301 of Turkey's penal code, which has been used to convict 745 people since 2003, including Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and murdered journalist Hrant Dink (more...), according to the Associated Press.
The revision redefines the crime as insulting the "Turkish nation" -- instead of "Turkishness," which was vague enough to allow the government to harass political opponents. The new law also cuts the maximum jail sentence from three years to two, and requires the justice minister to approve any investigation into possible violations.
Critics are calling the reform superficial. "What needs to be done is to abolish 301 altogether," said Fatma Kurtulan, a pro-Kurdish legislator, according to AP. Kurtulan said the reform was designed to appease EU demands without actually bringing about any real change. A Nod to Europe: Ankara Amends Controversial 'Turkishness' Law >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)
