Turkey signs protocol on web-based hate crimes

By Onur Usta

STRASBOURG, France

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday signed a protocol in Strasbourg, France under which racist and xenophobic acts on the Internet will be classified as crimes.

Cavusoglu was alongside Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, in Strasbourg to address the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

Davutoglu said that since Turkey is a state under the rule of law, everyone should respect freedom of expression.

"Freedom of expression is a basic value. Everyone should respect it. However it should be used without insulting others, damaging the rights of individuals, or supporting terrorist acts", said Davutoglu.

The premier met with Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland in Strasbourg today.

During the meeting, in addition to an agreement about Internet-based crimes in general, a protocol to define racist and xenophobic acts on the web as crimes was signed by Cavusoglu.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Davutoglu said, "We are encountering many problems, such as the rise of terrorism in our region, the rise of Islamophobia, and anti-refugee sentiments".

Calling the Council of Europe an institution for peace, stability, and democracy, Davutoglu stated, "As a democratic country grounded in the rule of law, Turkey supports all the basic values of the Council of Europe including freedom of expression".

"The terror threat concerns not just a single country but all of us," he added.

Davutoglu emphasized that he is proud of Turkish people for protecting the rights of refugees.

"Today we host 3 million refugees. Turkey is now the largest refugee-hosting country in the world. No other country faces such challenges. I am proud of Turkish people", he said, adding, "The Turkish public has no anti-refugee, anti-Syrian, or anti-Arab tendency. We see them as our brothers".

Syria has remained locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the regime of Bashar al-Assad cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than 250,000 people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN figures.

Around 2.7 million Syrians who have fled the civil war in their country are being sheltered at camps inside Turkey.

The conflict in Syria has now driven more than 4 million people – a sixth of the country’s population – to seek sanctuary in neighboring countries, making it the largest refugee crisis for a quarter of a century, according to the UN.

* Anadolu Agency correspondent Can Erozden contributed to this story from Ankara.