New penal code brings different sort of life to Turkey

Before all the controversy surrounding its composition has even ended, today, June 1, sees the implementation of the new Turkish Penal Code, or the TCK. It is a wide reaching set of laws which reach into many areas of daily life in Turkey. Some of the more noteable aspects of life which will be affected by the TCK are as follows: Random gunfire and traffic monsters People who fire their guns into the air after matches or weddings, killing, however inadvertently, those around them with bullets raining from the sky, will face up to 25 years in prison. The same goes for the famous Turkish "traffic monster" syndrome; those whose failure to abide to traffic laws leads to the death of others will also face up to 25 years imprisonment.  No more "incitement" pleas Incitement as an excuse for murder-as in, "My daughter ran away with a man, so I was incited to shoot her"-will no longer lessen a person's punishment. The so-called "incitement" based murders wil be tried as normal murder cases from hereonin.  Honor killings Under the new TCK, murders carried out in the name of "honor" (usually following an informal family council meeting in which one family member is elected to go through with the killing) will receive life sentences. This is a change from the previous penal code, under which it was possible to receive a lesser punishment for a so-called "honor" killing.  Careless construction  People responsible for collapsing buildings which kill more than one person will now face anywhere from 3 to 15 years in prison.  Torture Public servants such as police, state defenders, and prison guards, will now face anywhere from 8 to 12 years in cases where torture can be proven.  Marriage Couples who have only an "imam" or religious ceremony backing their marriage will face between 2 and 6 months prison sentence. Forced sex within the marriage will now be tried as rape.  Pregnancy and divorce Men abandoning pregnant wives will face anywhere from 3 months to 1 year under the new TCK. Abortion will be the sole decision of the wife, with the legal time limit for abortions being set at 10 months.  Insulting the government Insulting the Turkish government, Turkishness, or the Parliament could receive punishments of up to 3 years in prison. Insulting a judge, a police officer, or a soldier could receive anywhere from 6 months to 2 years.  Â