Orhan Pamuks 301 Case Dropped

Writer Orhan Pamuk had been prosecuted for an interview given to the weekly Swiss "Das Magazin" in February 2005, in which he had said, "One million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds have been killed on this soil."

"Degrading Turkishness"

Pamuk had been prosecuted at the Sisli 2nd Penal Court for "degrading Turkishness" (Article 301), and a sentence of up to three years had been demanded. The case had then been dropped in January 2006 because the Ministry of Justice had withheld permission to judge.

The court had decided to try Pamuk under Article 159, the predecessor of Article 301 and had asked for permission from the Ministry of Justice. The case had been postponed until 7 February.

When the Ministry had replied on 20 January that "we do not have the authority to permit judgment", the court decided to drop the case immediately.

Supporters of Pamuk, including European Members of Parliament, had been attacked by nationalists when they attended the trial. The violence had attracted as much attention in Europe as the case itself. (EÖ/AG)