WASHINGTON - March 24 - From 1-10 April 2006, Amnesty International groups around the world will be asking members of the public to sign postcards urging the Turkish authorities to abolish Article 301 of the Turkish penal code.

Amnesty International believes that Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code poses a threat to the fundamental right to freedom of expression. Individuals including human rights defenders, publishers, prominent writers, and journalists, are being prosecuted because they have dared to discuss publicly the "official" version of the country's history or the role of the army, or have caricatured state officials.

The case against Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk for comments on the deaths of Kurds and Armenians in Turkey has been dropped. However, this is too small a step on the road to freedom of expression.

Amnesty International members are appealing to members of the public to put pressure on the Turkish authorities to immediately stop prosecutions against individuals under the article and to abolish it in its entirety.

For more information, please see:
Turkey: Court drops case against novelist Orhan Pamuk (AI Index: EUR 44/001/2006)
Turkey: Article 301 is a threat to freedom of expression and must be repealed now! (AI Index: EUR 44/035/2005)
Turkey: Article 301: How the law on “denigrating Turkishness” is an insult to free expression (AI Index: EUR 44/003/2006)

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