(Bloomberg) — Turkey’s main opposition party asked the nation’s top court to halt the implementation of part of a controversial new law that will enable social media users who knowingly spread disinformation to be jailed.
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The application to the Constitutional Court by the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, on Tuesday came just hours after the law went into effect, and argued that the government could use its provisions to intimidate critics in the run-up to next year’s elections.
The move by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s administration to criminalize the spread of what it describes as false information on digital platforms is a troubling sign in a nation already under fire for its failure to protect free speech. Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index ranks Turkey 149th out of 180 nations.
Read more: New Turkey Law Mandates Jail Time for Spreading ‘Disinformation’
“We’ve filed a case for the annulment of Article 29 to stop its implementation,” until a verdict is given on its validity, Engin Altay, the CHP’s deputy parliamentary whip, told reporters outside the courthouse. “This law reflects the mindset of Stalin.”
Article 29 of the law provides for those who deliberately spread disinformation about the country’s security, public order and overall welfare in an attempt to incite panic or fear to be imprisoned for between one and three years. The challenge is unlikely to succeed because of the considerable influence Erdogan wields over the court — he has appointed 10 of its 15 judges.
Civil rights groups have also condemned the law’s provisions as censorship, and say they are aimed at muzzling dissent ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections that will be held in about eight months’ time.
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