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Alert

International observers to attend hearings in cases against publisher and writer

(IPA/WiPC/IFEX) - The following is a joint IPA and International PEN press statement:

2 March trials of Fikret Baskaya and Ragip Zarakolu Symbolise the Continuation of Freedom of Expression Problems in Turkey

International PEN, and the IPA, as well as other international NGOs, among them Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, are in Turkey to attend as observers the trial hearings against writer Fikret Baskaya and publisher Ragip Zarakolu, set for 2 March 2005.

Fikret Baskaya will be tried in Ankara on charges of 'insult to the State, State institutions, and the military' under Article 159 of the current Penal Code. He could face a three-year jail sentence. The charges stem from articles published in the early nineties (since republished as a book entitled: "Articles against the Current") in which he was critical of the Turkish authorities.

Ragip Zarakolu, co-founder and owner of Belge Publishing, is charged in Istanbul with 'incitement to racial hatred' under Article 312 of the current Penal Code, charges occasioned by his writing of an article critical of Turkey's foreign policy on Kurdish issues. The charges carry a two-year jail sentence. An additional case was initiated against him in December 2004 for the publication of George Jerjian's Book entitled: "The truth will set us free/Armenians and Turks reconciled" for insulting the State and the memory of the founder of the Republic, Atatürk. The first hearing in this case is due to take place in Istanbul on 16 March 2005. An investigation was also opened for his publication of Zulkuf Kisanak's "Lost Villages".

Lars Grahn, Chairman of the IPA Freedom to Publish Committee, declares: "Both Fikret Baskaya and Ragip Zarakolu have been subjected to a series of long, time-consuming and expensive court hearings. Whatever the outcome of these trials, this is in itself a form of harassment and punishment for daring to produce works which touch on sensitive issues".

There are currently an estimated 60 writers, publishers and journalists under judicial process in Turkey for practicing their right to freedom of expression. In this regard, the 2 March trial hearings of Fikret Baskaya and Ragip Zarakolu are just two out of many. Eugene Schoulgin, Member of the Board of International PEN says: "To us, they symbolise the continuation of freedom of expression problems in Turkey".