Zaman, Turkey
Sept 22 2006

Shafak Acquitted, but Article 301 Continues

Friday, September 22, 2006
zaman.com

Renowned Turkish novelist Elif Shafak, who was charged with
"insulting Turkishness" under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code,
was acquitted Thursday.

Charges were dropped against Shafak, 34, who gave birth on Saturday,
due to insufficient evidence.

She was brought to trial by the nationalistic Turkish Lawyers
Association because a fictional character in her best-selling novel
"The Bastard of Istanbul" made reference to the purported 1915 Armenian
Genocide, a highly contentious issue in Turkey.

Orhan Pamuk, Turkey’s best-known novelist, had similar charges brought
against him earlier in the year, but he was similarly acquitted in
February. Since Article 301’s inception in June 2005, more than 60
cases have been opened against writers and journalists.

While the trial’s dismissal comes as welcome news to Turks eager for
E.U. accession, others believe that the root problem, Article 301
itself, hasn’t been resolved.

Shafak agrees: "The verdict is very pleasing in terms of Turkey’s
test of democracy and freedom of expression, but incomplete as long
as Article 301 remains as it is, open to manipulation," she said in
a telephone interview with the New York Times.