IFEX Members Urge Abolishment of Article 301

Following the assassination of journalist and editor, Hrant Dink, outside the offices of his newspaper Agos in Istanbul on 19 January 2007, the International Publishers Association (IPA) and International PEN are seeking wide support for a campaign for the complete repeal of Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.

34 non-governmental organizations signed the petition upto date.

This law makes it a crime to "insult Turkishness" and under it, scores of writers, journalists, publishers and intellectuals have been sued for what they have written and published.

It was under this code that Hrant Dink himself was condemned to a six-month suspended sentence last year

IPA and PEN compiled a joint action urging Turksih authorities to abolish article 301 of the Penal Code.

Below is the text of appeal that two organizations revealed to International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX) members:

"We, the undersigned,

* Saddened by the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist and founder of the "Agos" newspaper, Hrant Dink, on 19 January 2007;

* Recalling that Hrant Dink had been condemned to a six-month suspended sentence for having "insulted Turkishness" under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code;

* Observing that Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code is used to suppress the right to freedom of expression as guaranteed in the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), to which Turkey is a party;

* Considering that defamation and/or insult laws cannot be justified if their purpose or effect is to protect the "reputations" of entities other than those which have the right to sue and to be sued;

* Supporting the ECHR case law according to which defamation laws cannot be justified if their effect or purpose is to prevent legitimate criticism of officials or the exposure of official wrongdoing or corruption;

* Pointing out that those charged for "insulting Turkishness" under Article 301 have become targets for extremists, many of whom have suffered verbal and physical attacks outside court rooms, culminating in the tragic events of 19 January;

* Welcoming that the authorities have now offered police protection for others who have been charged under these laws;

* Believing that the discontinuance of the court hearings and the dropping of the offence of "insulting Turkishness" will serve to reduce the likelihood of any further tragedies.

Urge the Turkish authorities to:

* Abolish Article 301 of the Penal Code entirely;

* Remove once and for all any articles that can be used to suppress the rights as enshrined under Article 19 of the ICCPR and Article 10 of the ECHR (e.g. Law 5816).

The following IFEX members and others NGO's have endorsed the above statement:

ARTICLE 19

Association for Promotion and Education of Human Rights

Association of American Publishers (AAP)

BIANET

Center for Media Freedom & Responsibility (CMFR)

Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Studies (CEHURDES)

Danish PEN

Dutch Association of Journalists

English PEN

Freedom House

Freedom of Expression Association

Freemuse (Freedom of Musical Expression)

Greek Helsinki Group

Greek Helsinki Monitor

Hong Kong Journalists Association (HJKA)

Independent Journalism Center-Moldova

Index on Censorship

Initiative for Freedom of Expression

International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN)

International Federation of Journalists

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)

International Press Institute (IPI)

International Publishers Association (IPA)

Observatoire pour la Liberté de Presse, d'édition et de création (OLPEC)

PEN American Center

PEN Canada

PEN Flanders

PEN Norway

Russian PEN

San Miguel de Allende PEN

World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC)

World Association of Newspapers (WAN)

World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC)

Writers in Prison Committee, International PEN

For further information, contact IPA, 3, avenue de Miremont, Ch-1206, Geneva, Switzerland, tel: +41 22 346 30 18, fax: +41 22 347 57 17, e-mail: krikorian@ipa-uie.org, secretariat@ipa-uie.org, Internet: www.ipa-uie.org (EÜ)