It looks as if embattled Turkish author Orhan Pamuk is not going to jail after all. The Turkish government has dropped the charges against the bestselling novelist. The move appears to be a direct result of the outcry around the world at the prospect of the acclaimed author being imprisoned for speaking his mind. No judge wanted to touch the case, apparently.
Pamuk, 53, was put in the dock last month in Istanbul amid ugly scenes, charged with a criminal offence and facing a potential three years in jail for saying to a Swiss magazine that 30,000 people had died in the conflict between Kurdish nationalists and Turkish security forces, and that a million Armenians had died in Turkey during the first world war - "and nobody but me dares to talk about it".
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The justice minister, Cemil Cicek, yesterday disavowed responsibility for the case and a municipal court in Istanbul dropped the charges, according to CNN Turk television last night. The EU had said the case raised concerns over freedom of speech in Turkey as it seeks to win EU membership by demonstrating its commitment to European values.
A game of pass the parcel followed when the judge in the case adjourned the trial in December and ruled that the justice ministry had to decide on whether it should proceed. Mr Cicek yesterday passed the problem back to the court which promptly said there was no case to answer, according to CNN Turk.
While Pamuk supporters were pleased his ordeal was over, anti-censorship lobbyists noted that scores of others - writers, publishers, and academics - still face trial for "denigrating Turkishness" or for publishing books deemed to be offensive to Turkey's official self-image. The writer was charged under a catch-all article in the penal code which criminalises any belittling of "Turkishness" and also outlaws "insulting" all of the major offices of state as well as the military and parliament.
If Pamuk had been convicted, it is extremely unlikely that Turkey would have been admitted into the European Union, which is desperately desires. There is no word as to what the Turkish government is going to with the other writers who have been charged for speaking out against government policies. But it's a start.
