ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s main opposition party has applied to the top court to annul an article added to the penal code that sets jailtime for spreading “disinformation” as part of a new media law, a party official said on Tuesday.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), had earlier promised that his party would apply to the Constitutional Court for the full media law to be annulled.
Parliament approved the bill last week and it became law early on Tuesday when it was published in the Official Gazette. The government says it aims to regulate online publications, protect the country and combat disinformation.
The article added to the Turkish penal code says spreading “misleading information” in a way that disturbs public peace is a crime. Engin Altay, a parliamentarian, said the CHP applied to annul it.