Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Turkish Penal Code: It's illegal to stop someone from sharing their faith!

I had heard this before, but a friend showed me what the law actually says:

"Article 125 - What is the penalty for preventing religious freedom?
To force someone to reveal or change their religious, political, social or philosophical thoughts or opinions, or to prevent from revealing or propagating these, or to hinder public religious worship and religious events, will be punished by up to three years in prison (Article 115).

Article 126 - Is it a crime to denigrate religious values?
Our law sees as illegal the denigration of the religious values of a segment of the population. In order for it to be punishable, however, it will depend on whether it was done in public and in a way that serves to break the public peace. Therefore, even if it is done in public, as long as it does not serve to break the public peace, it will not be considered a crime (Article 126).

Article 127 - Is missionary activity a crime?
No. Just the opposite: forbidding the propagation of religious thoughts and opinions is a crime (Article 115)."

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