Turkije overweegt wetswijziging na aanklacht tegen europarlementariër Lagendijk (en)

Turkey's foreign minister has hinted Ankara might change the controversial rules on insults to the country's national identity, after they were used by a group of nationalists to trigger legal action against a deputy of the European Parliament.

"There seems to be a chain of systematic complaints. There appears to be a mentality deliberately aiming to create chaos," Abdullah Gul told the NTV news channel on Wednesday (28 December), reacting to the request to try a Dutch MEP Joost Lagendijk for his comments on Turkey's army.

Article 301 of the country's penal code which aims to protect Turkey's national symbols and institutions had previously sparked criticism both home and abroad for hampering Turkish citizen's freedom of expression.

The EU had made clear it would not accept such limitations while proceeding with Turkey's membership bid to join the bloc.

Mr Gul indicated on Wednesday that the government could amend the article, arguing that laws are not untouchable and "can be amended if need be," according to AFP.

"We cannot interfere with the courts, but we can monitor how laws are implemented and interpreted and whether that is the direction Turkey wants to take," he said.

He added that both the latest action against the EU lawmaker and previous cases, such as with the prominent novelist Orhan Pamuk, were adding up to the negative image of Turkey.

The Dutch green deputy Joost Lagendijk is reported to have said during a recent visit to Istanbul: "The military wants clashes with the PKK (Kurdish rebels). This makes it feel powerful and important," according to Reuters.

His comment was followed by a request for inquiry on whether it is possible to try him for offending the army, filed by a group of nationalist lawyers.

The same people had initiated the Pamuk case, for his statements about crimes committed in Turkey against Kurds and Armenians.