The New Version of Turkish Penal Code Article 301: an Evaluation
Önder TOZMAN
Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TPC) is a very controversial article both in Turkey and in the international arena. It has been criticized on the grounds that it restricts and even does away with freedom of expression. The first version of Article 301 of the TPC No. 5237 maintained the general characteristics of the last version of Article 159. However, while on the one hand some people continually expressed their demands for the complete abolishment of this article, on the other hand some expressed the opinion that the article should be made more concrete. As a result of these efforts, the article was revised with a law dated 30 April 2008. Although the number of sentenced cases has decreased since the last amendment, discussions about and criticism of the article have not ended. This study analyzes the last version of the article and tries to clearly delimit this type of crime, particularly because it restricts the freedom of expression.
Türk Ceza Kanunu’nun (TCK) 301. maddesi (Türk Milletini, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devletini, Devletin Kurum ve Organlarını Aşağılama) (765 sayılı TCK madde 159) Türk ceza hukukunda en problemli maddelerden birisi olarak görülmektedir. Bu madde yurt dışında da çok eleştirilen bir maddedir. Uygulamada Hrant Dink, Orhan Pamuk, Elif Şafak gibi yurtdışında da tanınan kişilerin bu maddeden mahkum edilmesi dolayısıyla, bu maddenin ifade özgürlüğünün önündeki en önemli engellerden biri olduğu sıklıkla vurgulanmaktadır. Türk Ceza Kanunu’nun 301. Maddesinin ilk hali, bir takım değişiklikler yapılarak 765 sayılı TCK’nın 159. Maddesinin son halini büyük ölçüde korumuştu. Ancak kamuoyunda, bu maddenin tamamen kaldırılması ya da daha somut hale getirilmesi yönündeki eleştiriler üzerine 30.4.2008 tarihli 5759 sayılı kanunla madde yeniden düzenlenmiştir. Ancak bu değişiklikten sonra da madde üzerindeki tartışmalar ve eleştiriler son bulmamıştır. Bu makalede son haliyle maddenin ifade özgürlüğü karşısındaki durumu ele alınmış ve bu suç tipinin sınırlarının net olarak çizilmesine çalışılmıştır.
A. INTRODUCTION
Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code1 (TPC) is a very controversial article both in Turkey and in the international arena. It has been criticized on the grounds that it restricts and even does away with freedom of expression. As famous people such as Orhan Pamuk, who was awarded the Nobel Prize; Hrant Dink, who was killed in an armed attack; and Elif Shafak who has a large readership in Turkey and around the world, have been put on trial, and some even sentenced, in accordance with this article, interest in Article 301 has been kept alive. Such type of crime was first regulated with Article 159 of the TPC of 19262. It was amended several times until the new Turkish Penal Code of 2004 was adopted. The first version of Article 301 of the TPC No. 5237 maintained the general characteristics of the last version of Article 159. However, while on the one hand some people continually expressed their demands for the complete abolishment of this article, on the other hand some expressed the opinion that the article should be made more concrete. As criticism of the article has increased in domestic and foreign public opinion because of the trials of the abovementioned famous people under this article and because of its restriction on freedom of expression, the government first requested opinions from domestic non-governmental organizations on the issue and then drafted a law for amendment of the article. As a result of these efforts, the article was revised with a law dated 30 April 20083. The final version of the law is as follows:
“Denigration of the Turkish nation, the Republic of Turkey, institutions and bodies of the State”
ARTICLE 301
