SARÝIBRAHIMOÐLU AND ÞÝK ACQUITTED FROM 301 CASE

Today’s Zaman
April 4 2008
Turkey

A Today’s Zaman columnist and her co-defendant were acquitted yesterday
of charges of insulting the military under the infamous Article 301 of
the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which also penalizes the denigration of
"Turkishness."

Judge Ruveyde Kaner and prosecutor Suleyman Aydýn of the Bakýrkoy
Second Court of First Instance in Ýstanbul decided to acquit
Today’s Zaman writer and Jane’s Defence Weekly correspondent Lale
Sarýibrahimoðlu and journalist Ahmet Þýk because they did not carry
any "criminal intentions" to harm any institutions, noting that their
words should instead be evaluated as "harsh criticism."

Minutes from the hearing state: "According to the testimonies of
the defendants, according to the published article and according
to the whole dossier about the case, in the article subject to the
criminal case, indications that ‘some structures and persons in state
institutions have to change their viewpoints’ should be evaluated
in the context of harsh criticism because defendants did not have
criminal intentions. They should be acquitted in accordance with Code
no. 5271 of Criminal Procedure Article 223."

The prosecutor had sought up to three years’ imprisonment for
Sarýibrahimoðlu’s remarks in Þýk’s article, titled "The military
should withdraw its hand from internal security," in the Feb. 8,
2007 edition of the now-closed newsweekly Nokta. The basis for the
case was her remarks regarding media images of the alleged gunman who
shot Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink in January of this year:

"While police officers were suspended, military personnel were only
transferred to other posts. When you examine this picture, you see
a concern for protecting not only the personnel, but an institution
— moreover, a mentality. … We saw it once again with the Dink
investigation; there are sordid and rotten ones in each of the three
institutions that should be removed."

In her first hearing, on Oct. 24, Sarýibrahimoðlu denied accusations
that she had insulted the military, asserting that she had criticized
the existence of officers within security institutions harming the
institutions themselves and only a paragraph had been picked up to
wrongly accuse her. She had also said her off-the-record remarks were
included in the article.

On the other hand, Þýk defended himself by saying the article did not
aim to harm the institutions but to criticize them and that his story
was based on his recording of the interview with Sarýibrahimoðlu. He
also said he no longer has the records of the interview because
all of his equipment and notes were taken during a police raid of
the magazine following its publication of some former commanders’
alleged military coup plans against the government. Soon afterward
the owner of Nokta shut the magazine down.

Umit Kardaþ, Sarýibrahimoðlu’s lawyer, said the decision to acquit is
important because it reflects on free speech. "I think Article 301
should be removed, but the acquittal shows it could be interpreted
to allow freedom," he said while speaking to Today’s Zaman.

Article 301 of the TCK has been used to file indictments against
Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, slain journalist Dink and novelist Elif
Þafak. Dink’s son, Arat Dink, and his colleague Serkis Seropyan
also faced trial under Article 301, which criminalizes insulting
Turkishness, the Turkish military and state institutions.

Fikret Ýlkiz, Þýk’s lawyer, said the acquittal speaks for itself.

"The court’s decision is sharp and clear, giving no way to
interpretation. Each acquittal is positive for freedom of speech,"
he told Today’s Zaman.

Article 301 led to 917 cases being brought to court in 2006 and 245
more in 2007. In the same year, 27 cases were overturned by the
Court of Appeals and sent for retrial. There are currently 1,189
cases before the courts for judicial review.

Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Þahin underlined last week that Turkey
needs to address concerns stemming from Article 301 as trials based
on it cause outrage worldwide. The minister further stressed that
the article should be amended in accordance with European Court of
Human Rights case law and with the principles of freedom of thought
and expression.

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