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Another Turkish Author Tried For Insulting National Identity

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  • Another Turkish Author Tried For Insulting National Identity

    ANOTHER TURKISH AUTHOR TRIED FOR INSULTING NATIONAL IDENTITY
    Katerina Ossenova

    JURIST, Univ. of Pittsburgh, School of Law
    Oct 5 2006

    [JURIST] Another Turkish author went on trial Thursday on charges
    [AP report] that he "insulted the Turkish identity" in violation of
    Article 301 [Amnesty backgrounder] of the country's penal code. Ipek
    Calislar wrote that the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal
    Ataturk, once left his palace disguised as a woman to evade an
    assassination attempt. Calislar faces 4.5 years in prison if convicted.

    Turkey [JURIST news archive; CIA backgrounder] is seeking membership
    to the European Union (EU) [official website], which has urged that
    Article 301 be abolished [JURIST report] because it infringes upon the
    freedom of expression. Despite revising portions of the penal code
    [JURIST report] last year, Turkish leaders have no immediate plans
    to make further changes to the law. Turkish novelists Elif Shafak
    [personal website], Hrant Dink and Orhan Pamuk [JURIST news archive]
    have all been charged under Article 301 for discussing the alleged
    Armenian genocide. Shafak was acquitted and Pamuk's charges were
    dismissed [JURIST reports], while Dink faces a retrial [JURIST report].
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