FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
One Year Imprisonment for Saying "Kurdistan"
The Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court found lawyer Erin Keskin, theater actor Murat Batgi and author Edip Polat guilty of "inciting hatred and hostility" and handed down a 1 year prison sentence to each of them. The accused had been trialed because of using the terms "Kurdistan" and "Kurds" in a speech on the occasion of the 6th Culture and Art Festival in Diyarbakır three years ago on 31 March 2006.
Prison sentence plus heavy restrictions
Lawyer and human rights activist Keskin issued a press release in the Istanbul Branch of the Human Rights Association (HRA) on 3 October.
In line with prosecutor H. Yüksel Ünal's proposition, President Judge of the court Ahmet Alkan convicted the three accused on 29 September under article 216 of the Turkish Criminal Code (TCK) concerned with inciting hatred and hostility amongst the public and humiliation of the public.
Furthermore, the court decreed to deprive Keskin, Batgi and Polat of their rights to the assumption of a public office, to do duty for institutions and organizations, the right to vote and be elected, and the right to manage structures such as associations, foundations, companies, unions and parties.
"Kurdistan" and "Kurds" as reasons for penalty
On behalf of the Kurdish Writers Union (Kurdish PEN) Polat awarded a prize to Keskin at a panel with the topic of "The Kurdish Question from yesterday till today and its solutions". These are the sentences Polat was convicted for:
"... Indeed, before awarding this prize, if such an honest and brave person, a Kurd with Kurdish roots and in Kurdistan, can make a speech holding his head that high, then this makes me very happy".
After her conviction Keskin stated: "I will always continue to defend all the oppressed individuals and the right of the Kurdish people to determine their own destiny. And I will always continue to criticize the Turkish militarism's dominance over the civil politicians... Regarding the agenda of Turkey and Kurdistan... more than 200 cases have been opened against me until today, and there is also a penalty handed down to me now. I received all those penalties for using the concept of Kurdistan, and I will continue to do so till the end".
Batgi was quoted in the conviction from one of his stand-up shows as follows: "Ecevit is in a coma, pray for Ecevit that nothing happens, I said something the other day, "I am afraid I will see Kurdistan before I die" and I said "May god give you a lifetime of a thousand years so you can see four Kurdistans".
Court sees "clear and immediate danger"
The court concluded from those words that they revealed the "public incitement of hatred and hostility partly among the public and partly against the public". The actions following those speeches showed "evidence of clearly emerging and immediate danger".
In a previous trial the Gebze 3rd Criminal Court of First Instance had acquitted Keskin who was again to be trialed for using the term "Kurdistan". Keskin was also served with a subpoena by the Viranşehir Criminal Court under the same allegations resulting in the same decision on 20 November 2007.
On 19 July 2007 the Bulanık Attorney General, conceding that "one can agree with this or not", decided for the phrase to be part of the freedom of thought. (EÖ/VK)