Istanbul court drops charges against novelist Elif Safak/ EU welcomes ruling

Dunya online, Turkey
Sept 23 2006

22/09/2006 14:20:32

The Beyoglu 1st Criminal Court in Istanbul on Thursday dropped all
charges against novelist Elif Safak, who had faced up to three years in
prison for writing a work of fiction in which characters referred to a
"genocide" of Armenians in Turkey during World War I. Safak didn’t
appear at the trial, as she was confined to hospital in Istanbul
after giving birth to a baby girl on Saturday.

The European Commission on Thursday hailed the court’s acquittal.

"The commission welcomes this recent judgement; this is obviously
good news," said Krisztina Nagy, spokeswoman for the European Union’s
executive arm. Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee Co-Chairman
Joost Lagendijk also praised the verdict.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed Safak’s acquittal,
saying his government was open to reform proposals to expand freedom
of speech. "Of course, the ruling concerning Ms. Safak has pleased me,"
Erdogan said.