The office of the Ankara Public Prosecutor ruled Monday against demands for the criminal prosecution of individuals who initiated an Internet campaign to issue a public apology to Armenians, Hurriyet Daily reports.

Earlier this month an investigation was launched into the issue after six Turkish prosecutors submitted a petition calling for the organizers of the apology campaign to be charged with "insulting the Turkish nation openly" under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

"It has been decided that there is no need for criminal prosecution on the legal grounds that opposing opinions are also protected under freedom of thought in democratic societies," the prosecutor's office, which completed its investigation regarding the demands, said in its ruling.

Some 28 thousand people have already signed the petition which reads, "My conscience does not accept the insensitivity showed to and the denial of the Great Calamity that befell the Ottoman Armenians in 1915. I reject this injustice and for my share, I empathize with the feelings and pain of my Armenian brothers. I apologize to them."

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan slammed the campaign, saying that Turkey has never committed anything it must apologize for.