Campaign Against Article 301 Gathers Thousand

Since the campaign that 169 intellectuals started to call for the repeal of articles 301 and 305 of the Turkish Penal Code was launched on 26 December, nearly 4,000 people have added their names to the campaign's website.

Among those who orginally signed the "301 times No! No Limits on Freedom of Thought" campaign, hosted at the website www.301hayir.net, are Prof. Dr. Ali Nesin, Prof. Dr. Gülay Toksöz, Prof. Dr. Kadir Erdin, Prof. Dr. Turgut Tarhanlı, Prof. Dr. Baskın Oran, Doç. Dr. Mithat Sancar, journalist and writer Şeyhmus Diken, journalists Sinan Kara, Adnan Gerger, and Bahattin Arı, authors Nihat Ziyalan and Ayşe Günaysu and musician and free speech activist Şanar Yurdatapan. Many other prominent academics, writers, journalists, and human rights activists have signed onto the campaign.

The intellectuals, reacting to the trial of writer Orhan Pamuk and these other cases, have expressed their fears that these trials are signs of a grave struggle against the democratization process. The statement also censures Justice Minister Cemal Çiçek, and Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu, asking why these freedom of expression cases have been opened and criticizing them for encouraging the aggressors with their words.

Some of the writers who have been charged under Article 301, which came into effect hwith the new Penal Code, or the older Article 159, are journalists Emin Karaca and Hrant Dink, writer Zülküf Kışanak, publisher Fatih Taş, Çağrı magazine owner Aziz Özer and the magazine's reader Erkan Akhay. In another case, the writer Rahmi Yıldırım was acquitted for the articles he wrote on the website sansursuz.com.

The signatories include other artists and thinkers from intellectual and professional backgrounds, such as Yaşar Kemal, Çetin Altan, Adalet Ağaoğlu, Arif Damar, Müjde Ar, Yılmaz Erdoğan, Nilüfer Göle, Fazıl Say, Süleyman Çelebi, Mehmet Ali Birand, Yaşar Seyman, Halil Ergün, Cüneyt Ülsever, Murat Belge and Toktamış Ateş.

Coşkun Ak, who was tried and later acquitted under article 159, the predecessor of Article 301, for publishing an internet article about human rights violations while he was editor of the Superonline.net forum, has also extended his support the campaign.