8 March 2006
PEN CONFERENCE SPOTLIGHTS CRIMINAL DEFAMATION LAWS
More than 50 writers, editors and publishers from 23 countries met in Istanbul, Turkey last week for International PEN's 6th Writers in Prison Committee conference, where plans were discussed to launch a global campaign against insult and criminal defamation laws.
Hosted by the Turkish Centre on 2-4 March 2006, the conference also featured a panel on "Freedom of Expression in Turkey Today" with Fatih Tas, owner of Aram Publishing House, attorneys Oya Aydin and Fikret Ilkiz, and Ismet Berkan, editor-in-chief of "Radikal".
While welcoming the recent dismissal of a court case against novelist Orhan Pamuk, who was charged under Article 301 of the Penal Code for insulting Turkishness, and the fact that no writers in Turkey are currently imprisoned, PEN members expressed concern about the large number of defamation cases against writers and journalists that remain before the courts.
Other key issues discussed at the conference included the recent uproar over Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed; impunity; the role of Internet service providers in giving information to authorities, especially in China; and the Russian government's move to ban the Russian PEN Centre.
PEN works to support writers worldwide who are imprisoned, threatened and sometimes killed because of their writing. The IFEX member has recorded over 1000 cases around the world and works actively on 150-200 of these cases.
Visit: http://www.internationalpen.org.uk
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