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TANER AKCAM WINS FREE-SPEECH CASE IN EUROPEAN COURT
Taner Akcam
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2011-11-01-taner-ak-am-wins-free-speech-case-in-european-court-
Published: Tuesday November 01, 2011
Worcester, Mass. - The European Court of Human Rights ruled on October
25 that a violation was committed against freedom of expression in
the case of Clark University Professor Taner Akcam.
Akcam, the first Turkish scholar to publicly express his conviction
that the 1915 Armenian genocide occurred under the Ottoman Empire (of
which Turkey is a successor state), brought his case to the European
court to tackle the constant fear of prosecution that caused him to
stop writing on the subject in 2007.
"There is no 'Armenian' side or 'Turkish' side to history," Akcam said
in an October 27 interview with Today's Zaman, an English-language
newspaper in Turkey. "To discuss what really happened in history is
to speak freely and openly about it, without legends or myths."
Akcam holds the only endowed chair in the world dedicated to research
and teaching on the subject of the Armenian Genocide. The ruling
is the subject of intense discussion in Turkey where talk about the
Genocide has long been criminalized.
Akcam, who has published widely on the subject of the Armenian
Genocide, feared prosecution by the Turkish government under Article
301. The law makes it a crime to insult Turkishness and it has been
used to prosecute writers and intellectuals, like Noble prize-winning
author Orhan Pamuk. Although Turkey had not brought charges against
Akcam under Article 301, he was the subject of numerous legal
actions and the target of death threats and intimidation from Turkish
ultranationalists. The court agreed with his claim that he faced risk
of prosecution despite amendments having been made to the Turkish law.
In 2006, Professor Akcam wrote an editorial in the bilingual
Turkish-Armenian newspaper AGOS to support his friend Armenian
Journalist Hrant Dink, the late editor of AGOS, against the prosecution
for the crime of "denigrating Turkishness" under Article 301 of
the Turkish Criminal Code. He also requested, in an expression of
solidarity, to be prosecuted on the same ground for his opinions on
the Armenian issue Istanbul. Akcam's article led to three complaints
being filed against him for allegedly denigrating Turkishness. Hrant
Dink was assassinated in January 2007 in Istanbul.
"Article 301 is a murderous law that killed Hrant Dink and it has
been killing the freedom of speech in Turkey," Akcam said. "Without
acknowledging a historic wrongdoing there will be no democracy. Turkey
should learn that facing history and coming to terms with past
human rights abuses is not a crime but a prerequisite for peace and
reconciliation in the region."
Despite not having "victim status," the court recognized that criminal
complaints filed against Akcam for his views on the Armenians had
become a campaign of harassment. The court further found that while
the current government had made changes to the law, Akcam could
not be sure that, in the future, he would be safe should there be a
shift in political will or a change of policy by a new government,
and there has been an interference with the exercise of his right to
freedom of expression.
Akcam's case, though granted this important initial victory, is still
open for three months to referral and review by the Grand Chamber of
the Court. If a referral request is made but refused then the judgment
will proceed in being executed by the Committee of Ministers of the
Council of Europe.
Akcam holds the Robert Aram and Marianne Kaloosdian and Stephen
and Marian Mugar Endowed Chair of Armenian Genocide Studies at
the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark
University.
Since its founding in 1887, Clark University in Worcester, Mass., has
a history of challenging convention. As an innovative liberal arts
college and research university, Clark's world-class faculty leads
a community of creative thinkers and passionate doers and offers a
range of expertise. Clark is nationally recognized in the areas of
psychology, geography, management, urban education, Holocaust and
genocide studies, environmental studies, and international development
and social change. Clark's students, faculty and alumni embody the
Clark motto: Challenge convention. Change our world. www.clarku.edu
Taner Akcam
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2011-11-01-taner-ak-am-wins-free-speech-case-in-european-court-
Published: Tuesday November 01, 2011
Worcester, Mass. - The European Court of Human Rights ruled on October
25 that a violation was committed against freedom of expression in
the case of Clark University Professor Taner Akcam.
Akcam, the first Turkish scholar to publicly express his conviction
that the 1915 Armenian genocide occurred under the Ottoman Empire (of
which Turkey is a successor state), brought his case to the European
court to tackle the constant fear of prosecution that caused him to
stop writing on the subject in 2007.
"There is no 'Armenian' side or 'Turkish' side to history," Akcam said
in an October 27 interview with Today's Zaman, an English-language
newspaper in Turkey. "To discuss what really happened in history is
to speak freely and openly about it, without legends or myths."
Akcam holds the only endowed chair in the world dedicated to research
and teaching on the subject of the Armenian Genocide. The ruling
is the subject of intense discussion in Turkey where talk about the
Genocide has long been criminalized.
Akcam, who has published widely on the subject of the Armenian
Genocide, feared prosecution by the Turkish government under Article
301. The law makes it a crime to insult Turkishness and it has been
used to prosecute writers and intellectuals, like Noble prize-winning
author Orhan Pamuk. Although Turkey had not brought charges against
Akcam under Article 301, he was the subject of numerous legal
actions and the target of death threats and intimidation from Turkish
ultranationalists. The court agreed with his claim that he faced risk
of prosecution despite amendments having been made to the Turkish law.
In 2006, Professor Akcam wrote an editorial in the bilingual
Turkish-Armenian newspaper AGOS to support his friend Armenian
Journalist Hrant Dink, the late editor of AGOS, against the prosecution
for the crime of "denigrating Turkishness" under Article 301 of
the Turkish Criminal Code. He also requested, in an expression of
solidarity, to be prosecuted on the same ground for his opinions on
the Armenian issue Istanbul. Akcam's article led to three complaints
being filed against him for allegedly denigrating Turkishness. Hrant
Dink was assassinated in January 2007 in Istanbul.
"Article 301 is a murderous law that killed Hrant Dink and it has
been killing the freedom of speech in Turkey," Akcam said. "Without
acknowledging a historic wrongdoing there will be no democracy. Turkey
should learn that facing history and coming to terms with past
human rights abuses is not a crime but a prerequisite for peace and
reconciliation in the region."
Despite not having "victim status," the court recognized that criminal
complaints filed against Akcam for his views on the Armenians had
become a campaign of harassment. The court further found that while
the current government had made changes to the law, Akcam could
not be sure that, in the future, he would be safe should there be a
shift in political will or a change of policy by a new government,
and there has been an interference with the exercise of his right to
freedom of expression.
Akcam's case, though granted this important initial victory, is still
open for three months to referral and review by the Grand Chamber of
the Court. If a referral request is made but refused then the judgment
will proceed in being executed by the Committee of Ministers of the
Council of Europe.
Akcam holds the Robert Aram and Marianne Kaloosdian and Stephen
and Marian Mugar Endowed Chair of Armenian Genocide Studies at
the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark
University.
Since its founding in 1887, Clark University in Worcester, Mass., has
a history of challenging convention. As an innovative liberal arts
college and research university, Clark's world-class faculty leads
a community of creative thinkers and passionate doers and offers a
range of expertise. Clark is nationally recognized in the areas of
psychology, geography, management, urban education, Holocaust and
genocide studies, environmental studies, and international development
and social change. Clark's students, faculty and alumni embody the
Clark motto: Challenge convention. Change our world. www.clarku.edu