Parliament Passes The Revised Article 301 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 of the Turkish penal code (TCK) under the title “Denigrating Turkishness, the Republic, the institutions and the organs of the State.” 

The notice of motion that was passed with 250 votes against 65 at the end of the deliberations that started yesterday (April 29) at 20:00 and lasted for eight hours replaced the “Turkishness” statement in Article 301 with “Turkish Nation”  and “The Republic” with “the State of  the Turkish Republic.”

According to the bill that was passed following fierce discussions, the title of Article 301 was changed as “Denigrating the Turkish Nation, The State of the Turkish Republic, the institutions and organs of the State.”

The new form of Article 301 

“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. 

How was Article 301? 

Article 301, entitled “Denigrating Turkishness, the Republic, the institutions and organs of the State”, became effective on June 1, 2005:

“(1) A person who openly denigrates Turkishness, the Republic or the Grand National Assembly of Turkey shall be punishable by imprisonment from six months to three years.

(2) A person who publicly denigrates the Government of the Republic of Turkey, the judicial institutions of the State, the military or security organizations shall be punishable by imprisonment from six months to two years.

(3) In cases where denigration of Turkishness is committed by a Turkish citizen in another country the punishment shall be increased by one third.

(4) Expressions of thought with the intention to critique shall not constitute a crime.” (EÖ/GG)