[New-Poetry] Court acquits novelist of insulting 'Turkishness'

[Suzanne Burns]

Update on Elif Shafak:

Though it doesn't say in this article, BBC radio just said that the
judge had decided even before the hearing to dismiss the case because
of pressure and publicity from Europe and the States.  Proof that
writing letters on behalf of persecuted writers *does* have an impact!

Suzanne



<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5366446.stm">Top novelist
acquitted in Turkey</a>

A court in Istanbul has acquitted the best-selling Turkish novelist,
Elif Shafak, who had been accused of insulting Turkish national
identity.

Ms Shafak, 35, had faced charges for comments made by her characters
on the mass killings of Armenians in the final years of the Ottoman
Empire in 1915.

Turkey rejects Armenia's claim that the killings constituted "genocide".

The EU welcomed the court ruling, but urged Turkey to scrap a law that
makes it a crime to insult "Turkishness".

The trial was seen by the EU as a test of freedom of expression in
Turkey, which began membership talks with the 25-member bloc last
October.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also welcomed the verdict
and signalled that the government would consider amending Article 301
of Turkey's penal code. It envisages up to three years in jail for
"denigrating Turkish national identity".

"The ruling party and the opposition can sit down together again to
discuss this issue as laws are not eternal," Anatolia news agency
quoted Mr Erdogan as saying.

Scuffles

The proceedings lasted just 40 minutes and ended in utter chaos, the
BBC's Sarah Rainsford reports.

Turkish nationalists demanded a punishment for Ms Shafak

The judges said they based their decision on lack of evidence to prove
that Ms Shafak "denigrated Turkish national identity" in her novel,
The Bastard Of Istanbul.

Ms Shafak - who recently gave birth to her first child - was not
present at the hearing.

Ms Shafak said by telephone that she was extremely relieved her trial was over.

But she expressed concerns that there would be other similar cases in
the future as long as Article 301 "is out there".

The nationalist lawyers who brought the case walked out in anger
shortly after the trial opened.

They claimed the court and judges had been unduly influenced by the EU.

[]
[]  If Article 301 will be interpreted in this way nobody can write
novels in Turkey anymore, no-one can make movies any more []
Elif Shafak

Riot police moved in to stop scuffles between nationalists and
leftists outside the courthouse.

'Autonomy of art'

One of the lawyers who filed the complaint against Ms Shafak had
claimed that her novel was Armenian propaganda, dripping with hatred
for the Turks.

One of the novel's characters speaks of "Turkish butchers" and a
"genocide", while others talk about being "slaughtered like sheep".

Ms Shafak was the latest in a long line of writers to face similar
charges in Turkey. But this was the first time Article 301 had been
used against a work of fiction.

"If Article 301 will be interpreted in this way nobody can write
novels in Turkey anymore, no-one can make movies any more," Ms Shafak
told the BBC before the trial.

"The words of a character could be used as evidence against the author
or the film director. I think it is extremely important to defend the
autonomy of art, and of literature," she said.

-- 
"Start with your identity, which is a combination of your assets and
what your friends mean when they discuss 'the trouble with you,'
polish that, and you have style."

--Quentin Crisp