ARTICLE 301 CASES AGAINST WRITERS CONTINUE
Kurdish Info
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Date: Thursday, October 12 @ 03:15:41 CDT
Bianet-Balbal protests obstacles in front of freedom of opinion and
Penal Code article 301 at Justice Ministry gates after being sentenced
to 10 months for his book "Flowers of Blood From A Captive General
on Ararat".
The suffering of Turkish writers and publishers under controversial
Penal Code article 301 continued in the first week of October with one
author staging a protest in front of the Justice Ministry in capital
Ankara and a publisher standing trial in Istanbul for publishing
books containing Armenian memoirs of the past.
One Turkish activist, meanwhile, was acquitted of article 301 charges
where the prosecution previously demanded imprisonment for public
"remarks" he had made.
The end of last week saw a protest staged by the author of "Flowers
of Blood From A Captive General on Ararat", Mustafa Balbal, who was
sentenced two months ago to 10 months imprisonment under article 301
for his book.
"301 is the greatest shame challenging the freedom of expression"
Balbal said, calling for certain codes in Turkey that "were inspired
by the Fascist Italian Constitution" to be lifted.
Taking his place at the gates of the Ministry but barred from making
a statement there, the author then moved to ministry’s Guven Park
entrance where he covered his mouth with black tape in protest of
obstacles before freedom of expression and article 301.
Balbal is one of many Turkish writers who have faced the threat
of the docks for books of historical value and research under the
controversial article.
His own work of research, based on the memoirs of those who witnessed
the uprising on and around Mount Ararat at the beginning of the 20th
century, covering the life of Sheik Zahir who lost four brothers in
the uprising before being killed himself, is still banned in Turkey
after being prosecuted for "conducting separatist propaganda".
He himself was charged and found guilty of "public denigration of the
Turkish Republic State" and "insulting the armed forces of the state"
in the book that was published in August 2002 – and originally seized
on an order issued by the now-defunct State Security Court (DGM). He
was sentenced to five months each on both counts.
Armenian Memoirs Case Continues
Balbal’s peaceful self-style protest of 301 and its consequences in
capital Ankara came in the wake of the ongoing trial of a well-known
Turkish publisher in Istanbul who faces a prosecutor’s demand for up
to 13.5 years imprisonment publishing the memoirs of two Armenians
in the Turkish language.
Belge Publishing House owner and journalist Ragip Zarakolu appeared at
the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on Thursday where
he is charged under article 301 for publishing Dora Sakayan’s "An
Armenian Doctor’s Experiences: The Ä°zmir Diary of Garabet Hatcherian
on 4 March" and George Jerjian’s "Freedom Will Free Us".
His case was monitored by Sanar Yurdatapan of the Initiative Against
Though Crime and in this most recent hearing, the defendant submitted
a letter sent by Sakayan himself to the bench.
""Who should Zarakolu be prosecuted for giving Turkish readers a book
based on Dr.Hatcherian’s diary?" Sakaryan’s letter asked. "Does the
Turkish reader need to be told what to read and what not to read? Can
Turkish readers themselves not decide on whether the book contains
insults against Turkishness?"
Sakaryan stressed in the letter that the author of the book was not
Zarakolu himself but was Dr. Garabet Hatcherian who he described
as "a loyal citizen of Turkey and an officer of the Turkish army"
expressing belief that the court would acquit the publisher.
Article 301, said Zarakolu after the hearing, "is putting both the
government and Turkey into a difficult situation. It is putting them
in difficulty in front of the European and world public opinion".
The Zarakolu case was adjourned to December 14.
One Acquittal But Still..
Balbal’s protest in Ankara and Zarakolu’s trial in Istanbul follow
one acquittal last Tuesday where "Haksoz" magazine author and Free
Opinion and Education Rights Association (Ozgur-Der) member Mustafa
Bahadir Kurbanoglu was cleared of charges under article 301.
Unlike the author and publisher, Kurbanoglu was charged due to
"remarks" he made in April 2006 during an Ozgur-Der gathering at
Istanbul’s Fatih Sarachane Park. His public criticism of the dismissal
from duty of Van prosecutor Ferhat Sarikaya under a decision taken
by the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors was deemed an offense.
"Even if I’m acquitted, 301 is still in place" Kurbanoglu said after
his verdict.
What is Article 301?
Article 301, on the denigration of "Turkishness", the Republic, and
the foundation and institutions of the State, was introduced with
the legislative reforms of 1 June 2005 and replaced the controversial
Article 159 of the previous penal code. It states that:
"1. Public denigration of Turkishness, the Republic or the Grand
National Assembly of Turkey shall be punishable by imprisonment of
between six months and three years.
2. Public denigration of the Government of the Republic of Turkey,
the judicial institutions of the State, the military or security
structures shall be punishable by imprisonment of between six months
and two years.
3. In cases where denigration of Turkishness is committed by a
Turkish citizen in another country the punishment shall be increased
by one third.
4. Expressions of thought intended to criticize shall not constitute
a crime."
–Boundary_(ID_VopFDez5pG1tynKi5IFIx Q)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress