5 hours agoTurkey's Parliament Approves Civil Society Group Monitoring Law
Periskopi(5 years ago)
(5 years ago)The Turkish Parliament adopted a change in the law today, which would strengthen government supervision over civil society groups, though human rights organisations warned that the law would violate the rights of those groups. The Law to prevent the funding of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction adds that [...]
In the Law to prevent funding the spread of weapons of mass destruction, it adds that authorities can conduct an annual inspection of nongovernmental organisations in the fight against terrorism financing.
The law allows the Interior Ministry to replace members of nongovernmental organisations if a member is under investigation on terrorism charges. The court could block access to the social networks of these organisations if they have donors' online campaigns without the authorities' prior permission.
The law was proposed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in power.
Previous antiterrorism laws led to the arrest of politicians, journalists and civil society activists.
Almost 680 civil society groups have signed a joint declaration against the law, saying it would limit the possibility of collecting funds and conducting activities. They said the law violates the Turkish Constitution, which guarantees freedom of association.
The law must also be applied to international civil society groups operating in Turkey.
