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International PEN to be Present in Istanbul for Elif Shafak Trial
September 18, 2006
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International PEN to be Present in Istanbul for Elif Shafak Trial
Representatives of International PEN will be present in Istanbul for the 21 September trial of author Elif Shafak, one of Turkey’s most respected writers, who is accused of “insulting Turkishness” under the notorious Article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code.
The case against Elif Shafak relates to her book, Baba ve Pic (Father and Bastard) to be published in English later in 2006 under the title The Bastard of Istanbul. Shafak’s book tells the story of two families – one based in Istanbul, the other an exiled Armenian family living in San Francisco - who share a family secret dating from the early 19th century that continues to effect the lives of their daughters in the present.
Elif Shafak is among around 18 other writers, journalists and publishers currently on trial in Turkey under the same law, which carries a maximum sentence of three years.
Two days before Shafak’s trial, on 19 September, there will be a trial hearing against Fatih Tas, a publisher who is also charged with “insult” to Turkishness under Article 301, for publishing a Turkish translation of US academic John Tirman’s Spoils of War: the Human Cost of America’s Arms Trade.
One of the most recent cases to be launched under Turkey’s draconian “insult” laws is that against Ipek Çalislar, the author of Latife Hanim (Lady Latife), a biography of the partner of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Ipek Çalislar was charged on 8 August 2006 with “insult” to the memory of Atatürk, under Law 5816. The contentious section of the book refers to an incident where, fearing for his life, Atatürk is said to have fled a building disguised as a woman. Çalislar’s trial is to open on 5 October 2006. She faces up to 4 ½ years in prison.
The same day, 5 October, there will be a court hearing under Article 301 against publisher and freedom of expression activist, Ragip Zarakolu. He is accused of having “insulted” Turkishness by publishing two books that refer to deportations and massacres of Armenians by Turkish forces in the early 1900s. Both cases were launched in 2005 and there have been numerous hearings since. A number of other writers and journalists will also be before the courts in separate trials on that day.
International PEN members have long campaigned against the repression of writers in Turkey. For some years the situation for freedom of expression appeared to be easing, with laws that allowed for the imprisonment of writers in denial of their right to freedom of expression being gradually eroded under a series of measures aimed at meeting the EU human rights standards needed for accession. However this trend was markedly reversed in June 2005 with the introduction of a new law, Article 301, used to penalise those who “insult” the Turkish state. Since then around 30 writers have been brought to court under this article, the most famous being one of Turkey’s most well known and widely translated authors, Orhan Pamuk. While his case was dropped in February this year, new trials continue to be opened, often of writers who are well known in Turkey and abroad. PEN has on its records reports of over 50 further writers and journalists on trial today under other laws that breach international standards.
PEN is calling on the Turkish authorities to review legislation that allows for the prosecution of writers and journalists in denial of their right to freedom of expression and to put an end, once and for all, to these trials.
International PEN, the worldwide association of writers with 144 Centres in 101 countries, exists to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere, to fight for freedom of expression and represent the conscience of world literature.
http://www.internationalpen.org.uk
Contacts:
In Istanbul: Eugene Schoulgin (PEN Board Member): +47 48031212 (mobile)
Sara Whyatt, PEN Writers in Prison Committee: +44 785210031 (mob – from 18-22 September)
PEN head office, London: +44 20 7405 0338
Email wipc@internationalpen.org.uk