Praising the Offence and the Offender in the Context of the Politicization of the Judiciary: The Meaning of the New Regulation

The crime of praising the offence and the offender is defined in Article 215 of the Turkish Penal Code, which has been used (and is being used) as a tool to limit freedom of expression in Turkey. A new criteria containing the “the clear and present danger” element was added to the crime as with the 4th Judicial Reform Package. In order to find the possible outcomes of the amendment in the reform package, , problems arising from the former version of article 215 and the ways in which judicial bodies interpret the clear and present danger criteria will be discussed. In the meantime, the importance of relations between the judiciary and political power in terms of the limits of the freedom of expression will also be analyzed.