Flag Burning Illegal in Turkey

Prime Ministry Human Rights President, Vahit Bicak, noted that criminal norms should be in harmony with global criteria. He said many behaviors considered as a crime should be dismissed from criminal definitions. Bicak offered as an example that to burn a U.S. flag in America is not a crime, but burning of the Turkish flag is a crime in Turkey.

(Today's Zaman, 14.05.2004) A commission of the Parliamentary Justice has completed seven months of studies of a draft of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). The commission's President, Koksal Toptan, said yesterday that they prepared a new draft in accordance with traditions and conditions specific to Turkey by analyzing the entire criminal law. Toptan said, "It has become the most modern penal code in Europe." Prime Ministry Human Rights President, Vahit Bicak, noted that criminal norms should be in harmony with global criteria. He said many behaviors considered as a crime should be dismissed from criminal definitions. Bicak offered as an example that to burn a U.S. flag in America is not a crime, but burning of the Turkish flag is a crime in Turkey. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, flag burning is protected by freedom of speech, but TCK number 165 requires that people are sentenced with one to three months imprisonment for burning the Turkish flag. 14.05.2004 Murat Aydin, Omer Sahin Ankara

Haberin Tarihi : 27.04.2008