Turkey has more restrictive laws regarding speech than does the US (most countries do) but has decided, in response to several high profile prosecutions, to liberalize speech regulations. The regulations in question balance a variety of interests in ways that are unfamiliar under first amendment logic, but I think there are some similarities worth considering. Atilla Yayla, a political science professor featured in this article, was fired from his job, criminally investigated, and ended up fleeing to the UK because he mildly criticized Attaturk, the founding leader of modern Turkey. At first blush, this seems a bit hard to fathom. Today, the American founders certainly can be criticized, but for years it was considered the height of rudeness and quite controversial to suggest that Thomas Jefferson, as now appears to be confirmed by DNA testing, fathered one or more children with a slave, Sally Hemmings. In the UK, it is an offense (albeit rarely prosecuted) to insult the queen. To the extent that the law protecting Attaturk is grounded in his importance as a symbol of Turkish nationalism and nationhood (and I think it is), the law is quite similar to proposed constitutional amendments to offer special protection to the American flag and to the laws protecting the British Queen.
Updated: Yayla convicted, sentenced to 15 months in prison, suspended.
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