Article 301 Used to Persecute Writers

An Istanbul court has sentenced writer Zulkuf Kisanak to six months in prison for "publicly insulting the state," by writing a book called "Lost Villages - How was Thousand Years' of Heritage Burnt Down?" that describes the destruction of villages in the southeast by Turkish state forces. The prison sentence was commuted to a fine of 3,000 new Turkish liras (USD 2,200).

Kisanak was found guilty of violating article 301 of the new Turkish Penal Code (TCK). The writer's lawyer, Ozcan Kilic, said he would appeal against the decision.

The court sides with the prosecutor

Only Kisanak's lawyer Kilic was present at the hearing on December 22 at an Istanbul court. Kilic told the court that the book is based on concrete events backed by evidence, and asked for Kisanak's acquittal. Prosecutor Kadir Nazmi Yelkenci demanded a three-year prison term for the writer.

Kilic reminded the court that the trial of writer Orhan Pamuk, which is based on the same article of the penal code, has been postponed, and asked for a postponement. However, the court sentenced Kisanak to prison. The court first sentenced the writer to six months in prison for insulting the Republic, then reduced the sentence to five months due to good conduct.

Eugene Schoulgin, deputy head of International PEN, the worldwide association of writers, watched the hearing in support of Kisanak. Journalist-writer Emin Karaca, journalist Hrant Dink and publisher Fatih Tas has previously been convicted based on article 301.

During his deliberation, the prosecutor said that the book, published in August 2004 by the Belge Publishing house, states that people in southeastern Turkey were expelled, their houses were burnt down, that people living in that region after the establishment of the Republic in 1923 underwent similar persecution, that their land was destroyed and burnt down, they were sent into exile, and that the state organized an attack on the Risg village of the Genc district of Bingol province. The prosecutor argued that these statements in the book constitute a public insult against the state.

Publisher Onal's trial postponed till March 2

Ahmet Onal, an official from the Peri Publishing house who has been sued more than 26 times, stood another trial on Dec. 21 after the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned a lower court's decision to fine him publishing for M. Erol Coskun's book called "Woman, the Language of Pain," a fine based on article 159 of the former Penal Code. Publisher Onal had been fined 2,653 new Turkish liras (USD 1,970) in March 2003. (EO/KO/EA/YE)