the pamuk trial and freedom of expression in turkey

Orhan Pamuk's trial was postponed today, with the judge referring the case to the Justice Ministry for a decision of whether or not he can properly be prosecuted under the new penal code. This is, I hope, a way of giving the government a chance to step in and dismiss the case, which was brought against Pamuk by reactionaries in the judiciary. Given the immensely damaging effect of this case for Turkey's international reputation and its EU prospects, I think it's likely the case will be cancelled, but if not, Pamuk will be back in court in February. His fame is likely to protect him, but as I've written before, journalists and activists without his international prominence--such as Hrant Dink and Ragip Zarakolu--are still subject to persecution.

In related news, today the Guardian published this story on freedom of expression in Turkey, for which it interviewed several friends of mine--the directors (Ertuğrul Kürkçü and Nadire Mater) and a reporter/editor (Erol Önderoğlu) at Bianet, the independent human rights media network I was working for in Istanbul. The people at Bianet have spent decades fighting to expand press freedom in Turkey, and I didn't realise until now quite how many prosecutions they'd racked up among them in the process. As they point out, the situation has improved in recent years--many journalists have successfully taken cases to the European Court of Human Rights and won compensation from the Turkish government. And the Turkish press is pushing the envelope constantly these days, despite continuing pressure and prosecutions. But the recent wave of prosecutions under the new penal code is incredibly discouraging. As Nadire says,

"They don't put people in prison any more. But they bring all these cases to pressure us, to terrorise us and produce self-censorship. Look at the Pamuk case. The message is, if they can put Orhan Pamuk on trial, I should steer clear of this stuff, not touch it."

But thankfully, the Turkish press isn't steering clear--of the Pamuk case, of the Armenian genocide conference earlier this year, or of other confrontations with the blinkered nationalism that still has a grip on the state. It's because of their work, and the potential created by continuing EU pressure, that I remain fairly hopeful about the situation in Turkey.

My previous posts about the Pamuk case and related issues are here, here, and here; also, Nadire's book on the Kurdish conflict--the one for which she was prosecuted a few years ago--was published in English just this week.