ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s parliament on Thursday passed an article of a draft bill that sets jail terms for spreading “disinformation” despite deep concerns over free speech and journalism, although it needs to be approved as a whole before becoming law.
Opposition lawmakers, European countries and media rights activists have called on the government to scrap the bill, which was prepared by President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party (AKP) and its nationalist MHP allies.
Article 29, passed with AKP and MHP votes despite opposition legislators voting against it, says those who spread false information about Turkey’s security to “create fear and disturb public order” will face a prison sentence of one to three years.
This article is the key concern among critics of the draft law, which is likely to be approved as a whole given that the AKP and MHP have a majority in parliament.
Media freedom is an issue of growing significance ahead of next year’s presidential and parliamentary elections, with surveys showing support for Erdogan and the AKP tumbling since the last vote.
The Venice Commission, which advises the Council of Europe, a rights watchdog, said it is particularly concerned about the “potential consequences of such a provision, namely the chilling effect and increased self-censorship” ahead of the vote.
(Reporting by Nevzat Devranoglu and Ali Kucukgocmen; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Gareth Jones)
