NEW TURKISH PENAL CODE ABOLISHES THE DEATH PENALTY

Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk told a press conference that a panel of legal experts under Prof. Sulhi Donmezer had worked for two years to produce the draft penal code, which still must be approved by parliament. Analysts said the draft is considered to be a comprehensive reform of the Turkish Penal Code and noted that eliminating the death penalty is a key requirement for membership in the European Union, which Turkey has applied to join.
The draft replaces the death penalty with life imprisonment and also widens the freedom of thought and expression that are restricted by articles 312 and 159 of the existing penal code.
Many Turkish intellectuals were jailed under article 312, while several politicians have been banned from politics for life for statements or articles interpreted by judges as "spreading hatred and dividing people along ethnic or religious lines".
The new code also widens the interpretation of the crime of torture, which is considered in the existing law as something only committed by officials.
The new law defines torture as an individual crime that could be committed by anyone but increases the penalty when it is committed by public officials.
According to the draft law, women sentenced to less than six months in prison will be confined under house arrest.
And for the first time, genocide and crimes against humanity will be defined in the code. Those convicted will face life in prison.
The code also differentiates for the first time between euthanasia and murder. Under the old code, both were punished with the death penalty.
"Imagine a son. The father is in pain, suffering from cancer and begging for death. The son cannot resist anymore and helps his father die," Prof. Donmezer said. "This killing is not comparable to murder."