OSCE Media Representative praises Turkey for changing penal code, but remains concerned
VIENNA, 7 July 2005 - The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, today praised the Turkish authorities for introducing important changes to the new Penal Code, following a legal review his Office produced last May listing 23 provisions that needed to be revoked.
However, "despite some improvements, the amendments do not sufficiently eliminate threats to freedom of expression and to a free press," Mr Haraszti said.
The revised Turkish Penal Code was finally approved by parliament on Wednesday, 29 June. It now has to be published in the Official Gazette in order to enter into force.
Out of the 23 changes the OSCE Representative suggested in May, seven provisions have been brought into line with media freedom principles.
A welcome improvement is the deletion of most of the provisions which assumed stronger sanctions when the media was involved. Turkish lawmakers acknowledged that information about crimes could be in the interest of free discussion of public affairs.
Relating to Article 305 on "offences against fundamental national interests", the Representative noted with satisfaction that two examples in the explanatory "Reasoning Document" - making it a crime to demand the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Cyprus or to claim that Armenians were exposed to genocide - have been removed.
On a negative note, however, Mr Haraszti observed three major areas where media freedom remains endangered:
- the right of journalists to report and discuss on public-interest issues is not secured;
- restrictions on access and disclosure of information have not been lifted;
- defamation and insult provisions remain a criminal rather than a civil offence, thereby leaving the free discussion of public affairs at risk.
The Representative expressed his hope that modernisation of the Turkish Penal Code would continue in the spirit of improving the freedom of public scrutiny, while the provisions promoting self-censorship would all be removed.
The original legal review can be found at Review of the Draft Turkish Penal Code: Freedom of Media Concerns