JOINT ACTION: IPA AND WIPC CONDEMN CONVICTION OF PUBLISHER OVER BOOK ON ARMENIAN QUESTION
IFEX
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June 25 2008
Canada
Article 301 TPC: International writers and publishers strongly condemn
the sentencing of Publisher Ragip Zarakolu for "insulting the State"
Geneva, London 19 June 2008 – The International Publishers Association
(IPA) and the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN strongly
condemn the sentencing of publisher Ragip Zarakolu in Istanbul on 17
June 2008 for "insulting the State" (Article 301 TPC) to a five-month
prison sentence, reduced to a fine.
The organisations are especially alarmed that this is the first
conviction since this article was slightly amended on 30 April 2008,
after over 1,000 people, including writers, publishers and journalists,
have been brought to the courts in the three years since its inception
in 2005. IPA and PEN have been calling for the repeal of this law ever
since it was presented in draft form, and are deeply disappointed
that rather than remove this legislation, the amendments are simply
cosmetic.
Around 29 writers and journalists are on trial today under Article
301. They are among a total of 79 charged under a range of laws that
impinge on the right to free speech, including Article 318 that has
led numerous commentators on conscientious objection to the courts,
and a raft of articles under Anti-Terror legislation and against
"incitement" that have been used against writers on the Kurdish
issues. There is clearly much more to do to bring Turkey in line with
its international requirements that safeguard free expression.
Ragip Zarakolu, recipient of the 2008 IPA Freedom to Publish Prize
and an Honorary Member of several PEN Centres worldwide, has said
that he will appeal the sentence and is determined to go as far as
the European Court of Human Rights, if need be. IPA and PEN support
him in demanding that he be acquitted on appeal and urge the Turkish
Judiciary to complete this trial swiftly, efficiently and fairly.
The case leading to the conviction of Ragip Zarakolu was initiated
in December 2004 for the publication of London-based author George
Jerjian’s book, entitled: "The truth will set us free/Armenians
and Turks reconciled". The first hearing of this case took place in
Istanbul on 16 March 2005 and since then there have been more than
ten hearings. Ragip Zarakolu was originally charged under Article 159
TPC, which criminalized acts that "insult or belittle" various state
institutions. This article was abolished in 2005 and replaced with the
now notorious Article 301. In some cases, defendants on trial under
Article 159 benefited from the changes by having their cases closed,
but this was not so for Zarakolu. Instead, he found that his trial
continued under the new law. When Article 301 was slightly amended on
30 April 2008, Zarakolu hoped that this time the case would be dropped,
or at the very least referred to the Ministry of Justice for review
as now provided under the amendments. However, the judge ruled that,
as Zarakolu was tried under the old Penal Code Article 159, the new
amendments do not pertain.
Observers believe that Zarakolu is being singled out by the more
conservative elements of the judiciary because of his decades of
struggle for freedom of expression, and particularly his promotion
of minority rights. Throughout his life, Ragip Zarakolu has been
subjected to a series of long, time-consuming and expensive court
hearings. The conduct of the trial in itself took the form of
harassment and punishment against the defendant for daring to produce
works that touch on sensitive issues, such as the Armenian question,
and Kurdish and minority rights.
The sentencing of Ragip Zarakolu shows that the recent cosmetic
change to Article 301 TPC was not enough to put an end to freedom of
expression trials in Turkey. Turkish legislation (new Article 301,
Law 5816, etc.) must be amended or repealed to meet international
standards, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the
European Union.
Ragip Zarakolu will be awarded the 2008 IPA Freedom to
Publish in Amsterdam on 18 September 2008 during the opening
ceremony of the International Seminar on Neo-censorship (18-20
September 2008). This seminar is part of the Amsterdam World Book
Capital 2008 programme. For more about the seminar, please see:
x.cfm?page=agenda&y=2008&m=9&d=18
IPA , established in Paris in 1896, represents the publishing industry
worldwide through 65 national, regional and specialised publishers
associations in 53 countries. International PEN was founded in 1921
in London. It is represented worldwide through 140 centres in over
100 countries. Both organisations are accredited Non-Governmental
Organisations enjoying consultative status to the United Nations
and seek to promote and defend the fundamental freedoms to publish,
to read and to write, defending the rights of authors and publishers
to create and distribute intellectual works in complete freedom.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Send appeals to the Turkish prime minister: – expressing alarm at the
conviction of Ragip Zarakolu on charges that are in direct denial of
his right to freedom of expression – pointing out that Article 301
of the Turkish Penal Code is not compatible with Article 10 of the
European Convention on Human Rights and Article 19 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which protect the right
to free expression and to which Turkey is a signatory – referring to
the existence of numerous other laws in Turkey that are used against
writers and journalists in the legitimate practice of their right
to freedom of expression – calling for there to be a further review
of Turkish legislation to remove from its remit all possibility of
trials and convictions that breach the international standards to
which Turkey is committed
APPEALS TO:
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Office of the Prime Minister
Basbakanlik 06573 Ankara Turkey Fax: +90 312 417 0476
Please copy appeals to the source if possible, and to the
Turkish ambassador in your own country. To find the address:
y
Updates the Zarakolu case arising from George Jerjian’s book:
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