Vail Daily News, CO
Sept 23 2006

Leading author acquitted, but Turkey remains a country where writers
can be put on trial

A nationalist demonstrator gestures at a poster of author Elif Shafak
during a protest outsi of a courthouse in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday.

Benjamin Harvey
September 22, 2006

ISTANBUL, Turkey – One of Turkey’s leading authors was acquitted
Thursday of "insulting Turkishness" – a crime Western-looking Turks
view as an embarrassment and one of the biggest obstacles to joining
the European Union.

The speedy court decision was seen as a step toward securing greater
freedom of speech, but critics said until the law is abolished,
Turkey will remain a place where authors are regularly put on trial.

"The fact remains that (Turkey’s courts) established a restrictive
interpretation of article 301 of the penal code which is not in line
with the European Court of Human Rights and European standards of
freedom of expression," EU spokeswoman Krisztina Nagy warned after
the decision.

But the government is reluctant to change the law – which makes it a
crime to insult Turkey, "Turkishness" or the government – because it
has broad nationalist support.

EU officials counter the real damage to Turkey’s image comes from
putting writers like Elif Shafak on trial – a case brought by
nationalist lawyers because of words spoken by the novelist’s
fictional characters.

The court ruled to acquit about an hour-and-a-half into the trial on
the grounds there was "no evidence" Shafak had insulted Turkishness.

"I hope that the absurdity of this case – we’re talking about
fictional characters – will encourage people that it’s time to act,"
said Joost Lagendijk, a senior European Parliament member who
attended the trial and is a vocal supporter of Turkey’s EU bid.

Lagendijk called on Turkey’s pro-EU Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, who has himself spent time in jail for reciting an Islamist
poem in 1999, to intervene and change the law.

"Each court case that is started is a victory for those who don’t
want Turkey in the EU, and a defeat for me and those in the EU who
are in favor of Turkey’s accession," Lagendijk said.

But nationalist lawyers said they will continue to bring legal action
against anyone who insults Turkey and vowed to appeal the Shafak
decision.

Fiercely opposed to Turkey joining the EU and hostile to any foreign
intervention, the lawyers spent most of the trial trying to eject
non-Turkish observers – especially Lagendijk – from the packed
Istanbul courtroom.

"This is not a consulate court!" one of them yelled minutes after the
case began.

"Let the foreigners go to hell! They can supervise their own
country!" bellowed lawyer Fuat Turgut as he pushed his way through a
crowd in the doorway.

The lawyers were repeatedly rebuffed and they eventually left the
courtroom in protest, after which the judge moved quickly to acquit
Shafak.

"The court concluded in a 1 1/2-hour session that there was
insufficient evidence to suggest that she committed a crime," Judge
Irfan Adil Uncu said.

Erdogan said he was pleased with the acquittal and said Turkey was
open to discussing article 301. But in implicit support of the intent
behind the law, he added: "Criticism is one thing, insulting is
another."

Justice Minister Cemil Cicek made similar remarks this week, asking a
journalist for the Turkish Daily News whether he was willing to "let
people curse at Turkey, insult Turkishness and get away with it."

Erdogan regularly files lawsuits over alleged personal insults, and
on Wednesday was awarded $3,400 in a case against a journalist who
suggested the prime minister might be mentally ill.

Shafak, 35, gave birth on Saturday and was at a hospital in Istanbul
and did not attend Thursday’s trial. If convicted, she could have
received a maximum three-year prison sentence.

Shafak’s husband Eyup Can, editor-in-chief of the Turkish newspaper
Referans, said he hoped the decision would be a model for future
cases, and pushed for the abolition of article 301.

"For the judge to make this decision in the first hearing is an
important step," Can said as he was congratulated by friends after
the trial. "But the most painful thing is that Turkey has become
famous as a country that tries writers."

In a sign public opinion may be turning in favor of change,
nationalist protesters outside the courtroom – usually a rowdy, often
violent group – were shouted down by other spectators.

Shafak’s book, "The Bastard of Istanbul," was released in Turkey on
March 8 and has sold more than 50,000 copies. The court case was
brought for words spoken by fictional Armenian characters regarding
one of the most disputed episodes of Turkey’s history, the mass
killings of Armenians during the final years of the Ottoman Empire.

A Turkish court dropped charges last year against Orhan Pamuk,
another leading novelist who also faced trial for writing about the
killings of Armenians. The charges were dropped for technical reasons
amid intense international pressure.

However, a high court recently confirmed a six-month prison sentence
imposed on Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink for attempting to
influence the judiciary after his newspaper ran articles criticizing
the law.

Dink’s sentence was suspended, meaning he will not go to jail unless
he repeats the same offense.