Turkey has cautiously welcomed a bill toughening anti-racism laws, saying the law could benefit ethnic Turks, who faced discrimination and racist assaults in the past, Today’s Zaman reports.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that Ankara closely followed the process and made necessary recommendations. It said Ankara also registered remarks by Athens that this bill is not aiming at any other countries, including Turkey. Turkey said it will closely follow the implementation of the bill.
The bill raises the prison term for instigating hate crimes to three years from two and allows prosecutors to investigate crimes even if the victims fail to report them to authorities.
It also imposes fines of up to 30,000 euros for those instigating racism and up to 100,000 euros for groups involved in racially motivated crimes, in addition to banning them from receiving state funding for up to six months.
