ALTUĞ TANER AKÇAM v. TURKEY JUDGMENT 9 II. RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW AND PRACTICE 43. Former Article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code reads as follows: “1. A person who publicly denigrates Turkishness, the State of the Republic of Turkey or the Grand National Assembly of Turkey shall be sentenced to a penalty of imprisonment for a term of six months to three years. 2. A person who publicly degrades the Government of the Republic of Turkey, the judicial bodies of the State or the military or security organisations of the State shall be sentenced to a penalty of imprisonment for a term of six months to 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. The expression of an opinion for the purpose of criticism does not constitute an offence.” 44. The new text of Article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code, as amended on 29 April 2008, reads as follows: “1. A person who publicly degrades the Turkish nation, the State of the Republic of Turkey, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the Government of the Republic of Turkey or the judicial bodies of the State, shall be sentenced to a penalty of imprisonment for a term of six months to two years. 2. A person who publicly degrades the military or security organisations of the State shall be sentenced to a penalty in accordance with paragraph 1 above. 3. The expression of an opinion for the purpose of criticism does not constitute an offence. 4. The conduct of an investigation into such an offence shall be subject to the permission of the Minister of Justice.” 45. In the criminal proceedings against Hrant Dink (see Dink v. Turkey, nos. 2668/07, 6102/08, 30079/08, 7072/09 and 7124/09, § 28, ECHR 2010-... (extracts)), the Grand Chamber of the Court of Cassation interpreted the term Turkishness as follows (Yargıtay Ceza Genel Kurulu, E.2006/9-169, K.2006/184, judgment of 11 July 2006): “... [T]he term “Turkishness” (Türklük) refers to the human element of the State; that is to say, the Turkish Nation. Turkishness is constituted by the national and moral values as a whole, that is, human, religious and historical values as well as the national language and national feelings and traditions ...” III. RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL MATERIAL 46. The European Commission’s 2009 Progress Report on Turkey stated the following, insofar as it concerns the use of Article 301 of the Criminal Code in cases concerning freedom of expression: