Hey, the Feminist Won Her Trial -- and Had a Baby

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/09/21/news/turkey.phpCourt acquits author of insulting 'Turkishness'By Sebnem Arsu The New York TimesPublished: September 21, 2006ISTANBUL A Turkish court on Thursday acquitted Elif Shafak, a novelist charged with insulting Turkish identity in the dialogues of her fictional characters, in a trial lasting just an hour and a half. The court decided there was a lack of substantial evidence and dropped the case that was brought by nationalists. The episode was closely monitored by the European Union and other foreign nationals and academics, who welcomed the court decision. The bone of contention was Article 301 of the criminal code, which makes criticism of "Turkishness" a crime punishable by a maximum three years' jail. In January a court dismissed similar charges against the prominent novelist Orhan Pamuk, who had discussed the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 - a topic that is taboo in Turkey - in a newspaper interview. He also referred to the deaths of Kurds in Turkish operations against a separatist group in the 1980s. The case against Shafak rekindled fears of a threat to freedom of expression. In a long history of similar trials, the European bloc has warned the Turkish government that legislation that puts writers and intellectuals on trial could prevent Turkey from becoming an EU member despite Turkey's numerous reforms and freedoms. A group of nationalist lawyers accused Shafak of insulting Turkish identity when one of the Armenian characters in her best-selling novel, "The Bastard of Istanbul," talked about Turkish "butchers" killing his ancestors in a 1915 genocide. The killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Army remains a fraught topic in Turkey, with the state strictly refusing to accept the term genocide and claiming that both sides lost many men during fierce battles. Shafak, 34, an assistant professor of Near Eastern studies at the University of Arizona, did not attend the trial after giving birth on Saturday. She celebrated her acquittal, but with reservation. "The verdict is very pleasing in terms of Turkey's test of democracy and freedom of expression, but incomplete as long as Article 301 remains as it is, open to manipulation," Shafak said in a telephone interview. "If the court decided against me, the arts and literature in Turkey could have fallen victims to censorship. Such a decision could have gagged artists in general." Lawyers in support of the case against Shafak were furious and dismissed the idea that fictional accounts could not be inflammatory. "It's very obvious that under the pressure of the Europeans, the court has given its verdict in favor of the writer," said one lawyer, Ahmet Ulger. "It's unacceptable that people can insult our state with the excuse of writing literature." Joost Lagendijk, who is a chairman of a Turkey-EU parliamentary commission, said that every time a new case is filed, it is a victory for Turkish opponents of European membership. Others thought the problem would work itself out over time. Eser Karakas, a law professor at Bahcesehir University in Istanbul, said as he left the courtroom: "There will be 30, maybe 35 more cases with similar acquittals, so that people would not even bother to file charges in the future."