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Pamuk decision lauded

Turkish nationalists angered by verdict, to file appeal

ANKARA (Turkey): A board member of the Turkish Lawyers' Union said on Monday that he would appeal the decision of a court to drop charges of ``insulting Turkishness'' against internationally acclaimed novelist Orhan Pamuk.

``It is a scandal,'' the lawyer, who is a nationalist, said by telephone. ``Orhan Pamuk must be punished for insulting Turkey and Turkishness, it is a grave crime and it should not be left unpunished.''

Earlier in the day, a court threw out the case against Mr. Pamuk, ending a trial that outraged even the most passionate advocates of Turkey's E.U. membership bid by raising questions about the nation's commitment to freedom of speech.

Coming just days before the E.U. is to begin a review of Turkey's much criticised justice system, the court decision was a sign that the long-desired goal of joining the wealthy E.U. was slowly forcing the Government to embrace European norms of freedom and democracy.

``The court dropped the case,'' Haluk Inanici, the author's lawyer, told the AP by telephone. ``This case should not have been opened in the first place.''

Olli Rehn, E.U. Enlargement Commissioner said in a statement that the decision to dismiss charges was ``good news for freedom of expression in Turkey'' but warned that Turkey ``needs to fill properly the loopholes'' in its penal code, which he said limit freedom of expression.

The author of critically acclaimed books including ``My Name is Red,'' ``Snow'' and ``Istanbul,'' had faced up to three years in prison for telling a Swiss newspaper in February: ``Thirty-thousand Kurds and 1 million Armenians were killed in these lands, and nobody but me dares to talk about it.''

More cases

Turkey is still not off the hook, however, as dozens of people are still facing charges similar to Mr. Pamuk's.

The nationalist lawyers behind the charges have vowed to continue prosecuting those who allegedly break the law by insulting Turkey.

European officials have repeatedly asked that Turkey change its laws to take the legal ammunition away from those who would prosecute speech offences in Turkey. — AP

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