DOHA - Before taking a step regarding Article 301 of Turkish Penal Code, Turkey's ruling party had internal talks as well as with several NGOs on the issue, Turkey's prime minister said on Monday.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is currently in Doha, Qatar to attend the "8th Doha Forum on Democracy, Development, and Free Trade", replied to questions on Article 301, after attending a luncheon held in his honor and holding talks with several foreign officials.
"We assessed the issue within Justice and Development (AK) Party and also with NGOs. As presidency represents a level above parties, we thought making an assessment and reaching a decision at this level would be a much more reliable action," Erdogan said.
After partaking in the luncheon, Erdogan held separate talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and French politician Segolene Royal who was a candidate for presidency at the latest presidential election in France.
Erdogan said relations between Turkey and Qatar, international issues such as the situation in Iraq, Israel, Palestine and the Middle East, as well as Turkey's EU accession process were discussed during the meetings.
Ruling AK Party presented a bill to the parliament on April 7th, in a bid to amend Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, which was used to prosecute those who "insult Turkishness."
The bill requires prosecutors to receive a greenlight from the Turkish President before they could press any charges under the law.
It also lowers the upper limit of prison sentence from three to two years, opening the way for the suspension of the jail term of those convicted under Article 301.
(DO-MS)