Zaman Online, Turkey
July 28, 2006

Turkey to Try Elif Safak for Denigrating Turkishness
By Cihan News Agency
Friday, July 28, 2006
zaman.com

An Istanbul court decided on Friday to open a case against author
Elif Safak on charges of denigrating Turkishness in the press.

In compiling its indictment file, Beyoglu Prosecution Office based
its accusation against Safak on remarks uttered by the Armenian
characters in her book, "The Bastard of Istanbul."

Safak’s trial is to open on September 21 at Beyoglu Court in
Istanbul. She could face up to 3 years in prison if found guilty.

The ultra-nationalist Turkish Lawyers Association Chairman Kemal
Kerincsiz, who is infamous for filing complaints against journalists
and authors, had filed the complaint against author Elif Safak

Kemal Kerincsiz has filed suits against famous Turkish novelist Orhan
Pamuk and ethnic-Armenian writer and journalist Hrant Dink.

Safak’s book, entitled "Baba and Pic" in Turkish, narrates the
relationship between an Armenian family and two Turkish families.

Elif Safak, who also writes for Zaman daily, has said that the
remarks of Diaspora Armenians in her book had wrongly been attributed
to her.

Earlier on Friday, a compensation case filed against well-known
Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk was dropped by an Istanbul Court. The
Martyrs’ Mothers Association had opened the case against Pamuk for
allegedly vilifying Turkish dignity in an interview published in a
Swiss magazine. The association had sought 36,000 YTL ($24,000) in
compensation from Pamuk.