2 April 2002
Alert
Writer and publisher of book on the Laz people to appear in court on 3 April
Incident details
Muammer Akyüz, Selma Koçiva legal action(WiPC/IFEX) - Writer Selma Koçiva and her publisher Muammer Akyüz will stand trial on 3
April 2002 for Koçiva's book on one of Turkey's many minority groups. International PEN considers the case against them to be in direct breach of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which specifically protects the right to freedom of expression.
The first trial hearing against Koçiva, author of "Lazona, the Reality of the Laz People", and the book's publisher, Akyüz of the Tum Zamanlar Publishing House, is to be held on 3 April. Koçiva's book was confiscated at the end of January and charges were laid against her and Akyüz under Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code (incitement to hatred and enmity), often used to penalise those who write on minority issues.
The Laz community is based in the Eastern corner of the Pontus, on the Turkish Black Sea coast, bordering Georgia. It has a separate identity from the Pontic community, about which the writer Omer Asan has published "The Culture of the Pontus". Asan is also threatened with prosecution for his writings.
International PEN is alarmed by the high numbers of writers on minority issues who are on trial in Turkey at present. Koçiva and Akyüz are among at least sixteen other writers who face fines and even imprisonment under the same legislation. The organisation is calling for the dropping of the charges against Koçiva and Akyüz and the discontinuance of the trials against other similarly accused writers.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
- expressing concern at the large number of trials against writers and journalists in violation of their rights to freedom of expression
- referring particularly to the trial taking place against Koçiva and Akyüz
- calling for an end to prosecutions of writers whose only acts have been to criticise the authorities or to comment on the issues of minority rights and self-determination
Appeals To
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit
Basbakanlik
Cankaya
Ankara, Turkey
Fax: +90 312 417 0476
His Excellency Hikmet Sami Turk
Minister of Justice
Adalet Bakaligi
06440 Bakaniklar
Ankara, Turkey
Fax: +90312 417 395
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
Source:
Writers in Prison Committee, PEN International
Brownlow House
50-51 High Holborn
London WC1V 6ER
United Kingdom
wipc (@) pen-international.org
Phone: +44 20 74050338
Fax: +44 20 74050339
@pen_int
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