A Turkish editor is to appear in court after publishing a book that prosecutors say insults Turkey
BBC News:
Abdullah Yildiz of Literatur publishers faces several years in jail for printing bestseller "The Witches of Smyrna" by Greek author Mara Meimaridi.
The novel is set during the last years of the Ottoman rule in Izmir (Smyrna in Greek), and in some passages describes the city's Turkish quarters as dirty.
Some 60 Turkish reporters and writers have gone on trial on similar charges.
One of the most high-profile trials is that of novelist Orhan Pamuk, who has been charged over his remarks about the alleged mass killing of Kurds and Ottoman Armenians - deaths Turkey insists cannot be classed as genocide.
The European Union has described the case as a litmus test of Turkey's eligibility to join, warning that it is Ankara - rather than Mr Pamuk - that is going on trial.
Mr Yildiz had been accused for "denigrating the Turkish national identity," Literatur's spokeswoman Eylem Ozcimen told the AFP news agency.
"We were very surprised by the lawsuit because the book has been on sale for more than a year," Ms Ozcimen said.
"We informed the author and she told us she had no intention of insulting the Turks and did not have a hostile attitude," she added.
The first hearing is expected to start in April, reports say.
Ms Meimaridi's book sold nearly 50,000 copies in Turkey and about 100,000 in Greece and is being made into a film.
Turks to stay with hard line on freedom of expression
posted by Adam Lawson @ 11:26 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I wouldn't go so far as to call Islam all of that. I think it is just like Christianity, or many other religions, in that if you take it very literally you get the acts of terror. Eric Rudolph bombed abortion clinics in the name of Jesus, just as Osama bin Ladin had people do the whole 9/11 thing for Allah's glory. I think that when you take your religion's teachings with a grain of salt, that's where it's okay and good. When you have an extremely literal interpretation, that's where you get into trouble.
Eric Rudolph bombed abortion clinics in the name of Jesus, just as Osama bin Ladin had people do the whole 9/11 thing for Allah's glory
But how many followers does Rudolph have in comparison to Osama? There is generally greater acceptance and support for religious violence in the Islamic world than there is in the Christian one.
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