Türkiye's parliament voted Sunday to approve a comprehensive overhaul of the country's criminal code, removing a significant hurdle in Türkiye's effort to open European Union membership negotiations. The vote came just days before the European Commission is due to release its assessment of Türkiye's democratic reforms on 6 October 2004.
The revised code, which updates legislation nearly eight decades old, is broadly considered the final major legal step needed to bring Türkiye into alignment with EU political standards required of membership candidates. Lawmakers returned early from summer recess after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan dropped a proposed adultery criminalization measure following talks with EU officials in Brussels.
Among its key provisions, the new law strengthens free expression protections, expands individual rights, and stiffens penalties for torture and human rights abuses. It also mandates life sentences for so-called honor killings, and adds criminal penalties for child sexual abuse, organ trafficking, and environmental pollution.
Women's organizations, while acknowledging progress on gender equality, criticized certain provisions as still discriminatory, citing concerns about virginity testing, sentencing reductions for honor killing perpetrators, and the criminalization of consensual sex between minors.
The law awaits presidential ratification and is set to take effect on 1 April 2005, with select provisions entering force on different dates. Parliament also passed two additional related bills.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in September 2004, in its own words.