Turkish PM says no plans to change state slander provision for EU bid News
Turkish PM says no plans to change state slander provision for EU bid

[JURIST] Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan [official website; BBC profile] has said that his government has no plans to abolish Article 301 [Amnesty backgrounder] of the country's penal code, despite warnings [JURIST report] from the European Union [official website] that it infringes upon the freedom of expression. Turkey already revised portions of its penal code [JURIST report] last year, and Erdogan said Sunday that Turkey will not change Article 301 but will consider EU suggested changes. The EU has warned Turkey that its slow progress [JURIST report] on a variety of legal and other reforms could threaten its bid [EU materials] for membership in the European Union [JURIST news archive]. Criticism of Article 301 is suspected to be included in the European Commission's annual progress report on Turkey [JURIST news archive; CIA backgrounder], due to be published on November 8.

Article 301 makes it a crime to insult the Turkish identity and has been used to prosecute human rights defenders, journalists and other members of civil society. Turkish novelists Elif Shafak [personal website], Hrant Dink and Orhan Pamuk [JURIST news archive] have all been charged under Article 301 for discussing the alleged Armenian genocide. Shafak was acquitted and Pamuk's charges were dismissed [JURIST reports], while Dink faces a retrial [JURIST report]. The Cyprus Mail has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in Six Days' War

On November 22, 1967, the UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the Six Days' War, and for respect of the right of all States in the area to "live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries." Read Resolution 242, which remains a cornerstone of efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.

President Kennedy assassinated, VP Lyndon Johnson sworn inin

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Later that day, Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was later tasked with leading a commission to investigate the assassination. President Johnson received the final report of the Warren Commission on September 24, 1964. Read the Warren Commission Report.