(WiPC/IFEX) – On 7 June 2006, writer Perihan Magden will come before a court in Sultanhamet, Istanbul, to hear charges that she has “turned people against military service” in an article on a conscientious objector. The prosecution is demanding a three-year prison term. International PEN protests the trial and calls for the charges to be […]
(WiPC/IFEX) – On 7 June 2006, writer Perihan Magden will come before a court in Sultanhamet, Istanbul, to hear charges that she has “turned people against military service” in an article on a conscientious objector. The prosecution is demanding a three-year prison term. International PEN protests the trial and calls for the charges to be dropped, and for an end to the trials of over 80 other writers, publishers and journalists that are currently in process and that fall foul of international standards protecting the right to freedom of expression. The organization is also alarmed by violent incidents that have taken place at some of these trials, and that cases continue to come before the courts where evidence appears flawed and where there are allegations that torture had been used against the defendants.
In an article published in the international media on 3 June, Orhan Pamuk, one of Turkey’s most well-known writers who himself was on trial earlier this year, describes Magden as “one of the most inventive and outspoken writers of our time”. He praises her both as a novelist, notably for “Two Girls” and “The Messenger Boy Murders”, both published in English, and for her “often controversial columns” that have been sharply critical of public figures in both the political and cultural spheres. Her outspokenness has made her the target of numerous prosecutions brought by those who seek to silence what Pamuk describes as her “fiery outbursts (which everyone knows to come from the heart), her combative independence and her steely conscience”. (For full article, go to http://books.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1789061,00.html, also available in non-English language press.)
On 7 June, Magden will find herself hearing charges, brought by the Turkish military, of “turning the people against military service” for an article entitled “Conscientious Objection is a Human Right”. In this article, Magden defends conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan, who is being penalised for refusing to undertake military service. As a homosexual, he is sure that he will suffer discrimination in the military. Although he would have been excused from service if he had agreed to undergo a physical examination, he saw this as degrading and refused. In her article, Magden referred to United Nations and Council of Europe views that conscientious objection is a human right and questioned why Turkey refused to acknowledge this. Magden makes it clear that her article was not intended to deter people from military service, only that their right to object should be upheld.
Magden is among a large number of writers, publishers and journalists currently known to be on trial in Turkey. They are accused of charges ranging from “insult to the state” or to the judiciary, military and the memory of Ataturk, to attempting to influence the judiciary. In 2005, this situation was brought to international attention with the controversial trial against Pamuk, accused of “insult to the state” for his commentary on the killings of Armenians at the start of the last century. His case was closed on a technicality in February 2006. Yet, despite the outcry, the numbers of persons on trial today for their writings has far from diminished. In June 2005, PEN was referring to around 60 such trials. Today the figure is closer to 80, indicating an increase of a third.
Another worrying aspect of the trials is the violence and antagonism that has taken place inside and outside some of the courtrooms. In December 2005, the international media witnessed such events in the Pamuk trial. More recently at the trial of Hrant Dink, the editor of an Armenian magazine also charged with “insult” to the state, which took place in early May 2006, there were scenes of verbal and physical abuse by members of the prosecution who harangued the defendants, their lawyers and even the judge. Pro-prosecution crowds outside the courtroom threatened and spat at the defendants and journalists as they entered the building, and were present in the public gallery to throw coins and other objects into the courtroom. At one point, those inside were unable to leave for around an hour until police were able to escort them out. One of those who was trapped described the scene as an “attempted lynching”. There are questions about how such scenes can happen and whether sufficient measures are taken to ensure that they do not.
Two other high profile hearings will take place this week. On 8 June, leading columnist Murat Belge will face the court for an article that questioned a judge’s decision to ban an academic conference on Armenia in late 2005. He is accused of “interfering in the judiciary”. For more on the case of Hrant Dink, who returns to the courtroom on 4 July, Murat Belge and others, see: http://ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74203
The second is that of a writer, academic and minority rights activist, Pinar Selek, who is accused of maintaining connections with the banned Kurdish Worker’s Party (PKK). On 8 June, the final trial will take place and her sentence will be announced. If convicted, she faces a life sentence. PEN considers the evidence against Selek, and most crucially her allegations that she was tortured to confess when she was originally arrested in 1998, to be highly flawed. There are strong indications that she is being penalised for her writings on the PKK.
