Freedom of Speech and Turkey's accession to the EU

International pressure and the celebrity of IMPAC prizewinner Orhan Pamuk led to the Turkish government's dropping of the charges brought against him of 'insulting Turkishness' earlier this year.

Village reported in March how the reluctance of the legislature and judiciary to oppose European liberalism led to a dismissal of charges, presumably to help indicate Turkey's readiness to accede into the EU. The newly introduced 'insult' charge was also levelled against 60 other Turkish writers and journalists. Their lower international profile has seen their trials continue unaffected despite Pamuk's escape. The Guardian reported that Elif Shafek, author of The Bastard of Istanbul, faces a three-year jail term for comments made by a character in her work of fiction. Where Pamuk discussed Turkish treatment of the Kurds, Shafek's offence derives from a character in the book that refers to Turkish acts of genocide against Armenia. Shafek is a popular Turkish writer but little known elsewhere. The outcome of her case may give a clearer indication of Turkish intentions.