Turkey's parliament on Thursday passed an article of a draft bill that sets jail terms for spreading "disinformation" despite deep concerns over free speech and journalism, although it needs to be approved as a whole before becoming law.
Opposition lawmakers, European countries and media rights activists have called on the government to scrap the bill, which was prepared by President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party (AKP) and its nationalist MHP allies.
Article 29, passed with AKP and MHP votes despite opposition legislators voting against it, says those who spread false information about Turkey's security to "create fear and disturb public order" will face a prison sentence of one to three years.
