US pressure for 312th article

Vural Savas stated that there were presures from foreign powers, especially the US, to remove the 312th article.

       Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Vural Savas, claimed that a promise has been given to the US that the 312th article of the Penal Code would be removed. Savas claims that the reason why US pressures to remove this article is that they want Recep Tayyip Erdoagn to be the head of the Virtue Party (FP). Savas does not want the article to be removed, as he sees it as "the only way we can defend our secular republic". Savas emphasized that there were pressures from foreign powers, especially the US, for this article to be removed and claimed that the reason behind it was to make Erdogan the head of FP. Stating that Erdogan may in three years win back the rights he had before he had been banned from politics, Savas claimed that the US is impatient and thus wants the article to be removed sooner.

Comparison with Europe

       Vural Savas stated that the Penal Codes of Germany, Switzerland, Italy and the Press Code for France also had articles that are like the 312th article of the Turkish Civil Code. " The way it is now, this article is not against the European Human Rights Aggreement. The decision of the European Human Rights Court about Mehdi Zana is the most concrete proof for this." said Vural Savas.

US: We don't interfere with internal affairs

       An official from the US Embassy on the other hand stated that the US does not interfere with a country's internal affairs.