Novelist May Be Jailed for a Character’s Remarks

The New York Sun
July 13, 2006 Thursday

By SHALIN PUNN, Special to the Sun

Turkey’s government is making a second attempt to prosecute one of
its leading authors after she allegedly "insulted Turkishness" with
a comment made by a character in her latest novel, "The Bastards
of Istanbul."

Elif Shafak will appear in the country’s seventh high criminal court
on charges of violating Article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code,
which prohibits the denigration of any aspect of Turkish culture. Ms.
Shafak’s translator, Asli Biscan, and her publisher, Semi Sokemen,
also face charges.

In June, similar charges against Ms. Shafak were dismissed after
a public prosecutor argued that the book is a work of fiction and
therefore does not represent the views of the author. But the decision
was overruled by the high court after complaints from a group of
right-wing lawyers, the Unity of Jurists.

Ms. Shafak and her publishers have said they are not sure which comment
in the book is "anti-Turkish." In an e-mail message to her agent in
America, Marly Rusoff, the author suggested possible paragraphs that
are being "particularly targeted by the ultranationalists."(The book’s
American publisher, Viking, forwarded the email to The New York Sun.)

* "I am the grandchild of genocide survivors who lost

all their relatives to the hands of Turkish butchers in

1915, but I myself have been brainwashed to deny the

genocide because I was raised by some Turk named

Mustapha! What kind of joke is that?"

"What happened to the millions of Armenians? Assimilated! Massacred!
Orphaned! Deported! And then forgotten!"

"Do you think they are going to say: oh yeah, we are sorry we massacred
and deported you guys, and then contentedly denied it all?"

The passages refer to the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by the
Turkish government in 1915.The massacre is recognized as the first
genocide of the 20th century, but in the last few decades the Turkish
government has attempted to deny it ever took place. In May 2005,
the Turkish justice minister, Cemil Cicek, labeled Turkish historians
who have said the genocide occurred as "traitors."

Ms. Shafak is not the first author to be prosecuted by the Turkish
government for talking about the genocide. In January, author Orhan
Pamuk was found not guilty of similar charges for comments he made
to the press.

An artistic rights organization, PEN American Center, has defended
Ms. Shafak and other authors. "It is very discouraging that she is
being prosecuted again by the conservative members of the judiciary,"
the director of PEN’s Freedom to Write program, Larry Siems, said.
"Writers shouldn’t be held responsible for what their characters say
and do."

Mr. Siems added that underlying these sorts of trials is a political
battle within the country over Turkey’s bid to join the European
Union. "The ultranationalist faction is pressing for prosecution as
a way of embarrassing Turkey in its bid to join the E.U.," he said.
"Cases like Shafak’s and Pamuk’s, involving internationally renowned
authors, point to the fact that they are looking to get international
headlines."

The date for Ms. Shafak’s trial has not been set, but if convicted
the author could be sentenced to up to three years in prison. No one
has ever been convicted under Article 301, but Mr. Siems said Ms.
Shafak faces a "long and trying" battle.

"The Bastard of Istanbul" confronts the genocide alongside the issue
of feminism. It tells the story of an Istanbul-based family and an
exiled Armenian family who discover that they share a secret that
links them back to the 1915 genocide.

The novel, originally written in English, was a best seller on its
release in Turkey in March. Viking is set to release the book in
America in early 2007.