TURKISH PUBLISHER STANDS TRIAL FOR "INSULTING TURKISHNESS"

armradio.am
06.12.2007 17:50

Nearly two years after the internationally acclaimed author Orhan
Pamuk narrowly escaped imprisonment for statements that were thought to
"insult Turkishness", the publisher of a British writer went on trial
yesterday accused of the same charge. Ragıp Zarakolu was facing up to
three years in prison for publishing a book – promoting reconciliation
between Turks and Armenians – by George Jerjian, a writer living in
London, The Guardian reports.

Zarakolu was being tried under Turkey’s 301 article of law,
the same legislation that was used against Pamuk, a Nobel Prize
winner. Yesterday’s hearing came in the wake of repeated promises
by senior officials in Turkey’s reform-minded administration to
rescind the notorious piece of legislation. Turkish diplomats admit
the contentious law has probably done more damage to Ankara’s efforts
to join the EU than any other single piece of legislation, observers
say there has been little headway made over reforming the spirit and
letter of the law.

–Boundary_(ID_g8iMdm8O0oP4HCIldZ+t1g)–