WRITER DEMANDS ANNULLMENT OF MINISTERIAL PERMISSION TO PROSECUTE HIM
hukuk@bianet.org
BIA Magazine
expression/114496-writer-demands-annullment-of-min isterial-permission-to-prosecute-him
May 14 2009
Turkey
Writer Demirer is on trial under Article 301 after the Minister of
Justice approved his prosecution. He went to an administrative court
to have the approval revoked.
Writer Temel Demirer’s prosecution under the controversial Article
301 is based on a comment he made about the assassination of
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
He said, "Hrant Dink was not killed for being Armenian, but because
he acknowledged the genocide [against Armenians in 1915]."
Minister of Justice allowed prosecution Former Minister of Justice
Mehmet Ali Å~^ahin gave the permission for his prosecution, and even
made a public statement in which he said, "I will not let anyone call
my state a murderer."
Demirer is now on trial at the Ankara 2nd Criminal Court of First
Instance for "denigration of the Turkish state." He faces two years
imprisonment. The next hearing of the case is on 29 May.
His lawyers took the case to the Ankara 4th Administrative Court in
order to have the ministerial approval for a trial revoked. The court
took the case in hand on 12 May and its decision will be announced
to the writer and his lawyers later.
Court insists judiciary is independent Speaking at the hearing,
Demirer said that the court would be making a decision on the most
basic security of citizens, on the independence of the judiciary. He
added, "You will decide whether the salt smells or not."
To this the judge Kadir Kavas reacted, saying, "Whatever the laws
dicate, this court will decide. Nothing can affect that…Even if
the eyes on the new statue of Justice in front of the Constitutional
Court are open, the eyes of the woman in front of us are still covered,
and she hands out justice with scales, we hand out justice."
Demirer’s lawyer Levent Kanat has accused the former Minister of
Justice of interfering with the judiciary and of having targeted the
writer with his comment. He called for the case to be dropped.
Support for Demirer Representatives of several rights organisations
were in court to support Demirer: academic Fikret BaÅ~_kaya, Huseyin
Cevher from the 78’ers Initiative, Huseyin Taka from the Socialist
Democracy Party (SDP), representatives from the KESK trade union
confederation and the Health Workers’ trade union (SES), as well as
members of Ankara’s Initiative for Freedom of Expression.