Constitutional Court rejects annulment request for 'Censorship Law': Censorship of journalists will continue!

The Constitutional Court (AYM) has rejected, by a majority vote, the request for the annulment and suspension of the provision that mandates prison sentences for the crime of "publicly disseminating misleading information."

WHAT HAPPENED?

The CHP had applied to the Constitutional Court with a request for the annulment and suspension of the article added to the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) through Law No. 7418 on Amendments to the Press Law and Certain Other Laws, which is publicly known as the fight against disinformation.

With Article 29 of Law No. 7418 on Amendments to the Press Law and Certain Other Laws, an addition was made to Article 217/A of the TCK, establishing the crime of "publicly disseminating misleading information" and stipulating that those who commit this crime shall be punished with imprisonment from 1 to 3 years.

Article 217/A added to the TCK is as follows:

"Publicly disseminating misleading information: (1) Any person who publicly disseminates information contrary to the truth regarding the internal and external security, public order, and general health of the country, in a manner capable of disturbing public peace, with the sole intent of creating anxiety, fear, or panic among the public, shall be sentenced to imprisonment from one to three years. (2) If the perpetrator commits the crime by concealing their true identity or within the framework of an organization's activities, the sentence imposed according to the first paragraph shall be increased by half."

News Source: 12punto