Crime of Insulting Religious Values | Izmir Criminal Lawyer

1. What is the crime of insulting religious values?

Inciting hatred and hostility or humiliation against the public titled Turkish Penal Code Pursuant to Article 216:

“Article 216- (1) Anyone who publicly incites hatred and hostility against a section of the public with different characteristics in terms of social class, race, religion, sect or region, and thereby creates a clear and imminent danger to public security, shall be punished with imprisonment from one to three years.

(2) A person who publicly humiliates a section of the public based on social class, race, religion, sect, gender or regional differences shall be punished with imprisonment from six months to one year.

(3) A person who publicly insults the religious values adopted by a section of the public shall be punished with imprisonment from six months to one year if the act is likely to disturb public peace.”.

2. How to File a Complaint?

In accordance with the aforementioned law, if you encounter websites containing attacks on national and moral values, or insults and attacks based on social class, race, religion, sect, gender, or regional differences, you can report these websites through the police hotline, or you can report the situation in writing or verbally to the nearest law enforcement unit or prosecutor's office.

3. How does it form?

Political interference in the judiciary in Türkiye and the attempts by political powers to suppress the opposition and strengthen their social dominance through the judiciary are unfortunately not new. However, it is an undeniable fact that in recent years, there has been an unprecedented increase in such interventions, transforming them into a tool used to intimidate political opposition. The crucial distinction here is whether the act considered a crime of insulting religious values falls within the scope of freedom of expression and the right to criticism. Everyone is free to believe or not believe in any religion they wish. This freedom becomes a crime if it involves insulting another belief or those who adhere to that belief. For example, a person with a large following on social media sharing an article about a religion and saying, '‘‘"Do you fools really believe that?"” It is possible to say that by sharing a post like this, the person is insulting those who believe in that religion and inciting hatred and animosity among the masses. However, within the limits of criticism, sharing or liking a post that the person believes to be incorrect is not considered a crime. This is because it cannot be argued that the person is trying to belittle religious values. Therefore, the distinction between freedom of expression and crime must be carefully considered.

4. What are the elements of a crime?

An examination of the numerous cases opened in this context in recent years reveals that certain legal articles stand out particularly. Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which regulates the crime of "insulting the President," Article 314 of the TCK, which regulates the crime of "membership in an organization," and Article 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Law (TMK), which regulates the crime of "organizational propaganda," are among the first articles that come to mind in this context. Especially in recent years, we observe the addition of a new article to this list: Article 216 of the TCK, which regulates the crime of "inciting hatred and hostility among the public and humiliation.".

As understood from the text of the article, three types of crimes are regulated. The first paragraph defines a crime type as "inciting hatred and hostility among the public," while the second and third paragraphs include crime types such as "insulting a segment of the public" and "insulting the religious values adopted by a segment of the public." Each of the crimes regulated in the paragraphs has different elements. However, it is understood that the aim of all three crime types is to protect public peace. Briefly, to explain the elements of these crimes; For the crime of "inciting hatred and hostility among the public" in the first paragraph, it is necessary for the perpetrator to have the intention of "inciting." For the crime to occur, this incitement must "create a clear and present danger to public security." Similarly, it can be said that the aim of the crime defined in the second paragraph is to protect public peace. With this type of crime, it is intended to prevent one segment of the public from harboring hatred and hostility towards another segment. Thus, the aim is to protect public peace. The third paragraph also stipulates that for the crime of insulting religious values to occur, it must be likely to disrupt public peace.

5. Is an arrest possible?

Arrest warrants cannot be issued for the crime of insulting religious values. In this type of crime, arrest is prohibited based on the penalties imposed for offenses other than those mentioned in the first paragraph. According to Article 100/4 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, arrest warrants cannot be issued for crimes where the maximum prison sentence does not exceed two years. Furthermore, the first paragraph of the same article states that an arrest warrant cannot be issued if the seriousness of the matter is not proportionate to the expected punishment or security measure. Therefore, issuing arrest warrants for this type of crime, excluding those defined in the first paragraph, is against the law. This proportionality must be based on the level of danger demonstrated by concrete facts. This level must be very intense and clear. It is clear that arrest warrants issued based on this accusation are currently against the law.

6. Should I Hire a Lawyer?

It is an undeniable truth of human experience that freedom of expression outweighs the protection of public order; and that intervention in freedom of expression is only permissible if it is demonstrated with concrete facts that public peace is being disturbed, and only if it is necessary to protect public peace and is deemed necessary in a democratic society.

 Unfortunately, in cases of insulting religious values, defenses made without a lawyer often cite individual circumstances and invoke effective repentance. However, legal training provides the knowledge and experience to present relevant legal articles, precedents, and similar cases to the court for defense. Therefore, the necessity of having a lawyer is evident. It is clear that simply describing the event individually, from the limits of freedom of expression to the evidence that needs to be examined, will be insufficient. The case has already been reported to the judicial authorities, and the trial has begun. What needs to be done is to prepare a detailed defense, focusing precisely on the charges in the indictment. Furthermore, it would be in your best interest to hire a lawyer before the trial begins, when you are summoned to give your statement, and conduct the statement process together with them.

For legal advice on this matter, please contact our expert team. Contact page.

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