International Freedom of Expression Exchange: The global network for free expression
4 June 2003
PEN CAMPAIGN URGES TURKEY TO GO "ONE STEP FURTHER"
Turkey may finally be on its way to joining the European Union (EU), but freedom of expression in the country is a long way from being respected, says the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN (WiPC).
While the government adopted several measures to improve its human rights record in 2002, a pre-condition for entering the EU, "writers, editors, journalists and publishers continue to face protracted prosecutions, fines and possible imprisonment if they wish to explore certain topics which remain 'taboo,'" WiPC says.
This month, WiPC is launching a special campaign urging the Turkish government to take its democratisation process "one step further" by dropping the legal charges facing the country's writers, journalists and publishers and releasing jailed Kurdish parliamentarian Leyla Zana. Zana is serving a 15-year prison sentence for allegedly belonging to a banned party and another two-year term for an article written while in jail. Her case has been taken up by Amnesty International, which has adopted her as a Prisoner of Conscience.
In Turkey, there are more than 80 cases of writers and publishers being prosecuted for their works, WiPC says. They include Ömer Asan, whose book "The Culture of the Pontus" describes Turkey's ethnic Pontian minority. He faces imprisonment on charges of spreading "separatist propaganda." Authorities also frequently ban books to quash dissent. In 2002, 77 books were banned, WiPC says. In many instances, they were banned for criticising or describing the Turkish government's policies towards ethnic minorities or for espousing views considered "Communist."
To participate in WiPC's campaign, visit http://www.pen.org/freedom/Turkey.html and follow the
links.
For more information about free expression in Turkey, see http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/256/
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