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Journalists stand trial in Turkey

ISTANBUL: The trial of five Turkish journalists charged with insulting the courts began on Tuesday with the judge ordering two lawyers to be removed after a fight broke out in the courtroom.

The trial is another high-profile case that will test the relationship between Turkey and the European Union, which has called for judicial reforms and increased rights to free expression in Turkey.

A case against Orhan Pamuk, the country's best known novelist, who was charged with ``insulting Turkishness,'' was dropped last month after Turkey came under harsh criticism from the E.U.

A group of European Parliament observers was attending the trial on Tuesday of the five leading journalists. The reporters had criticised a court's decision to shut down a conference in Istanbul about the mass killings of Armenians by Turks during the Ottoman Empire.

Dozens of nationalist Turks protested the E.U. pressure on Turkey to increase freedom of speech. In criticising the Istanbul court, the reporters were attempting to influence the outcome of a trial and insulted the court system, the prosecutor's indictment said.

The five journalists named in the indictment are Murat Belge, Hasan Cemal, Ismet Berkan, Haluk Sahin and Erol Katircioglu. They face prison terms between six months and 10 years if convicted.

AP

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