FYROM : Article 179 Tales

[akritas]

How the law on "denigrating Macedonism" is an insult to free expression

As you know the several NGO and Amnesty International is extremely concerned at the frequent use of Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TPC) to prosecute human rights defenders, journalists and other members of civil society peacefully expressing their dissenting opinion. Article 301, on the denigration of Turkishness, the Republic, and the foundation and institutions of the State, was introduced with the legislative reforms of 1 June 2005 and replaced Article 159 of the old penal code.

It states that:
Public denigration of Turkishness, the Republic or the Grand National Assembly of Turkey shall be punishable by imprisonment of between six months and three years


What about FYROM ?

Many people we wonder why so silence as about in this multiethinic Republic when is known that the 45% are not officially Slavmacedonians.

In FYROM there is a similar article - as the Turkish one -in the "Criminal Codex of the Republic of Macedonia" ("Krivien Zakonik na Republika Makedonija")

Article 179
"The one who with intent to mock shall publicly expose to ridicule the Macedonian people and the nationalities, shall be punished with prison from three months to three years."

Now you know why the nationalities in FYROM are not able to say free theirs opinion as about the origin or the language or the heritage. "Insulting" Macedonism can lead to prosecution and jail.
Every body knows the case of the Bishop Jovan.


Why Amnesty and NGO like Helsinki Monitors still silelnce as about this think ?

Why EU and USA has never expressed serious concern about the limits on freedom of expression in FYROM and the restrictive way Article 179 ?

How many are (or were) on trial under Article 179 that makes it a crime to insult Macedonism or state organs ? Were/are Greeks among them ?

Is it insult to say that the today Slavmacedonians cannot establish a link with antiquity as they entered in the Balkans centuries after the demise of the ancient Macedonian Kindgdom ?

[Vasiliye]

Here is a snapshot of the Article. 179. of the Criminal Codex of FYROM, from an official PDF, taken from the FYROMian Ministry of Interior.

[Truth Bearer]

translation??

[Vasiliye]

Originally Posted by Truth Bearer

translation??

Provided by Akritas:

Exposure to mockery of the Macedonian people and the nationalities

Article 179

"The one who with intent to mock shall publicly expose to ridicule the Macedonian people and the nationalities, shall be punished with prison from three months to three years."

[Truth Bearer]

Where's the Helsinki Human Rights watch now??

[Vasiliye]

The new version of the "Criminal Codex", currently in procedure in the Assembly (Parliament) also contains the exact article, unchanged.

For, comparation,here is the Turkish article 301.Anybody can see that the FYROMian is more restrictive.

1. A person who publicly denigrates Turkishness, the Republic or the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, shall be punishable by imprisonment of between six months and three years.
2. A person who publicly denigrates the Government of the Republic of Turkey, the judicial institutions of the State, the military or security organizations shall be punishable by imprisonment of between six months and two years.
3. In cases where denigration of Turkishness is committed by a Turkish citizen in another country the punishment shall be increased by one third.
4. Expressions of thought intended to criticize shall not constitute a crime.

-The FYROMian law has nothing like the subartcicle 4. of the Turkish 301. where, in theory,the defendand may claim that his statement or act was a deed motivated by serious "criticism".

[Cadmus]

Vasilye, how can we interpretate such a article ?

Offending a single macedonian or offending macedonians in public is prohibited??

Where lie the bounderies of such accusations as in offending the Macedonians or the Macedonian state?

[Vasiliye]

"Publicly" is defined as "outside the privacy of the home, excluding visible space from public area".Streets, paks, corridors of the appartment buildings, public building, theathers, sport halls.The METHOD: by conversation, shouting, putting posters, via TV and radio, via Internet is relevant insofar that the more audience is exposed to such "crime", the more severe to the maximum the punishment is likely will be.The punishment is more severe if the "mockery" is done in particularilly disgracing way.


Offence of a single "Macedonian" may be followed by charge according to this article, if his "Macedonism" is being mocked.

The offence toward the "Republic of Macedonia" is covered by the preceding article 178.There are severel other forms of ridicule which are forbbiden by the FYROMian law.Interesting, a charge for the mockery of the foreign state can be made only by request of that state.It FYROM the Prosecutors may make charges on their own, or by requests from Police or any citizen.Some other crimes are filled by plantiff only by private lawsuit, not by the authorities, even if they found out about the deed i.e insul.t

But if for example somebody publicly burns Greek flag, which is forbbiden in FYROM, only Greece may request via diplomatic chanells a proposal to the FYROMian Prosecutor to file a charge in frount of Court.Proposals from police or private citizens, even with evidence inclosed, shall be rejected bu automatism.

Offending the reputation of
the Republic of Macedonia

Article 178

A person, who with the intention to ridicule shall publicly
make a mockery of the Republic of Macedonia, its flag, arm or anthem,
shall be punished with imprisonment of three months to three years.

Exposure to mockery of the Macedonian people and the nationalities

Article 179

The one who with intent to mock shall publicly expose to ridicule the Macedonian people and the nationalities, shall be punished with prison from three months to three years.
Offending the reputation of the court
Article 180
A person who in a procedure before the court ridicules the
court, the judge or the jury-judge, or who commits this in a written
submitted paper to the court, shall be punished with a fine, or with
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imprisonment of up to one year.
Offending the reputation of a foreign state
Article 181
A person, who with the intention to ridicule shall publicly
make a mockery of a foreign state, its flag, arm or anthem, or the head
of a foreign state or a diplomatic representative of a foreign state in the
Republic of Macedonia, shall be punished with a fine, or with
imprisonment of up to three years.
Offending the reputation of
an international organization
Article 182
A person, who with the intention to ridicule shall publicly
make a mockery of the Organization of the United Nations, the
International Red Cross, or some other international organization, or
their representatives, shall be punished with a fine, or with
imprisonment of up to three years.
Prosecution for crimes against
the reputation of a foreign state and
an international organization
Article 183
The prosecution of crimes from articles 181 and 182 is
undertaken upon request from the foreign state, respectively the
international organization, and after permission from the Minister of
Justice.
Prosecution of crimes against
the honor and reputation
Article 184
(1)
The prosecution of crimes from articles 172 to 175 is undertaken
upon private suit.
(2)
If the crimes from articles 172, 173 and 174 were committed
against the President of the Republic of Macedonia, regarding the
performing of his function, prosecution shall be undertaken in line of
duty.

[Cadmus]

Thanks! Vasilye...it is a hard zero tolerance law indeed...i wonder if the Article is applied on mockery on Macedonia on websites like ours as well....i hope not..

[Vasiliye]

For example take this absurdity...............

Article 182
A person, who with the intention to ridicule shall publicly
make a mockery of the Organization of the United Nations, the
International Red Cross, or some other international organization, or
their representatives, shall be punished with a fine, or with
imprisonment of up to three years.


So, if I say to a, let say, administrator of the Red Cross, a clerk "hey man, that Rap CD you just boght, let me tell ya something: Rap sucks!Rappin' fans heve their both brain cell dead, yet they are able to purchase CD's.How the heck do ya do that!Your ass apparently took the function of the brain!" I may get more severe punishment (up to 3 years) for the above "crime" than for euthanasia, even involuntary (sneaking in a hospital and injecting poison into patient in obvious agony), even if he begs me that he wants to live-6 moths to two years.

Get that.Only in FYROM...........