Zarakolu going to prison for publishing about the Genocide

[Joseph]

Prison for Turkey book 'insult'


A Turkish publisher has been sentenced to five months in prison for publishing a book by a British author about the mass killing of Armenians in 1915.

Ragip Zarakolu was found guilty of "insulting the institutions of the Turkish republic" under Article 301 of Turkey's penal code.

The controversial law was recently reformed under pressure from the EU to ensure freedom of speech in Turkey.

This is the first high-profile verdict to be handed down since then.

Mr Zarakolu's sentence seems to confirm campaigners' fears that changes to the law were merely cosmetic, says the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul.

In April it became a crime to insult the Turkish nation, rather than Turkishness. But insulting the Turkish nation can still be punished by up to two years in jail.

Sensitive issue

Mr Zarakolu was brought to trial for publishing a book by British author George Jerjian on the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

I do not accept myself as convicted. This is a conviction for official history and for denialism
Ragip Zarakolu
Turkey denies the killings were genocide and the issue remains highly sensitive.

Passing sentence, the judge told Mr Zarakolu he had insulted the Turkish republic and its founders. His own defence - that he had the right to criticise - was rejected.

Mr Zarakolu's case was not referred to the Turkish ministry of justice, as required under the reforms, and he has said he will appeal against the verdict, our correspondent reports.

His sentence will not be imposed until that appeal process is complete.

Outside the court, Mr Zarakolu said that such rulings had silenced many writers in Turkey but that he would continue to challenge the restrictions.

"I was partly waiting for this result. But it is a struggle for the truth and it will go on. I do not accept myself as convicted. This is a conviction for official history and for denialism," he said.

The justice ministry recently revealed that 1,700 people were tried under Article 301 in 2006 alone.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/7459729.stm

Published: 2008/06/17 17:37:32 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

[Joseph]

http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=145220&bolum=101

Publisher sentenced over book on Armenian killings

Ragıp Zarakolu A Turkish publisher has been sentenced to five months in prison for publishing a book by a British author about a mass killing of Armenians in 1915. Ragıp Zarakolu was found guilty of “insulting the institutions of the Turkish Republic” under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) on Tuesday.

The controversial article was recently amended under pressure from the EU to ensure freedom of speech in Turkey. This is the first high-profile verdict to be handed down since then.
Zarakolu’s sentence seems to confirm campaigners’ fears that changes to the law were merely cosmetic. In April it became a crime to insult the Turkish nation, rather than Turkishness. But insulting the Turkish nation is still punishable by up to two years in jail. Zarakolu was brought to trial for publishing a book by British author George Jerjian on the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

Turkey denies the killings were genocide, saying both Turks and Armenians were killed, and the issue remains highly sensitive.

Reading the verdict, the judge told Zarakolu he had insulted the Turkish republic and its founders. His own defense -- that he had the right to criticize -- was rejected. Zarakolu’s case was not referred to the Ministry of Justice, as required under the reforms, and he has said he will appeal against the verdict. His sentence will not be imposed until the appeals process is complete.

Standing outside the court, Zarakolu said such rulings had silenced many writers in Turkey but that he would continue to challenge the restrictions. “I was partly expecting this result. But it is a struggle for the truth and it will go on. I do not consider myself convicted. This is a conviction for official history and for denial,” he said.

19 June 2008, Thursday

[Hovik]

Guilty: publisher sentenced over book on genocide

Guilty: publisher sentenced over book on genocide
Robert Tait in Istanbul
June 21, 2008

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THE PUBLISHER of a book by a British author acknowledging the 1915 Armenian genocide has been convicted under Turkey's notorious article 301, despite reforms intended to make the law less draconian.

A judge sentenced Ragip Zarakolu to five months in prison after ruling that The Truth Will Set Us Free, written by George Jerjian, "insulted the Turkish republic".

The conviction came despite a letter of support from the author to the court arguing that his book was intended to forge a "new understanding of history between Turks and Armenians".

Translated into Turkish in 2005, Jerjian's book tells the story of the slaughter of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman forces during World War I through the eyes of his Armenian grandmother, who survived largely thanks to the protection of a Turkish soldier.

Turkey disputes allegations that the Armenians' deaths were a result of genocide.

Mr Zarakolu, who was acquitted of a separate charge of insulting the memory of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, has been freed on appeal.

He is not expected to serve time after the judge ruled that his sentence could be reduced to a fine, citing good behaviour.

The case, which has lasted more than three years, prompted members of the European Parliament, human rights organisations and the international writers' group Pen to campaign on Mr Zarakolu's behalf.

His conviction is the first since the Turkish Government, led by the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, revised article 301 in April under pressure from domestic and foreign critics, who saw it as the country's most significant restriction on free speech.

The altered law banished the crime of insulting "Turkishness" and reduced the maximum sentence from three to two years. The law also laid down that all prosecutions need prior approval from the justice minister.

The law was first introduced by the AKP in 2005 and has been used to prosecute 60 writers and journalists, including Orhan Pamuk, who was charged after telling a Swiss newspaper that no one in Turkey dared mention the Armenian deaths or those of 30,000 Kurds. The charges against him were later dropped.

Mr Zarakolu, 60, whose human rights activities earned him two spells in prison during the 1970s, has faced official harassment for numerous publications over the years.

Guardian News & Media


This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/...770924679.html

[Joseph]

Congratulations to Ragip Zarakolu and other Turkish journalist like him. They are ones that will bring peace and reconciliation between Turks and Armenians closer to attainment

http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/region/europe/080919-turkey-freedom-mc

Freedom to Publish Prize for Turkish journalist
Persistence in the face of constant harrassment

BY ERIC BEAUCHEMIN
19-09-2008
Listen to the report (mp3)
Controversial Turkish journalist and publisher Ragip Zarakolu has been awarded the International Freedom to Publish prize. He has been a thorn in the side of the Turkish state for nearly 40 years, publishing books on taboo subjects such as the Armenian genocide, the Kurdish issue and Turkey's Greek minority. The prize is awarded by the International Publishers Association for exemplary courage in upholding freedom of expression and freedom to publish. Ragip Zarakolu received the award in Amsterdam, this year's World Book Capital.

Ragip Zarakolu receiving the IFA prize in Amsterdam
(picture: Kaj ter Borgh)
Ragip Zarakolu and his late wife in 1977 set up a publishing house in Istanbul that has been the target of Turkish censorship laws ever since. They constantly tried to create more space for democracy and freedom in Turkey. One of the most controversial books they published was about Kurdistan in 1990, when the region was embroiled in a guerrilla war between the Turkish state and the PKK separatists. The book was immediately banned by the authorities.
"They came to the publishing house and wanted to take all the copies, but we distributed all the copies before they came. We made 3000 copies. They were astonished. There was nothing they could do. So later they charged us and began a trial. The first trial was at the Serious Crimes Court. And we were accused of inciting Kurds to rebel and my late wife went to prison in 1994 for six months."
The prison sentences and the constant harassment from the Turkish state did not deter the Zarakolus. Two years later they published a book about the Armenian genocide, an even more controversial subject in Turkey.
"Our reaction was to publish more books about same topics because they charge us. They accuse us of a crime. So we try to understand what is the crime in reality: to publish a book or the topics inside the books. And if there is a crime inside the books, who are the real criminals. If you publish a book about the Armenian genocide and you were accused, you must show what the Armenian genocide is, who is responsible and who is really criminal."
Earlier this year, Zarakolu was found guilty for translating and publishing yet another book about the Armenian genocide. He seems to relish these run-ins with the authorities, and the International Publishers Association has now recognised his persistence by awarding him the Freedom to Publish prize, an award his late wife won exactly 10 years ago.
"You feel your struggle is accepted. I'm proud to take it because I love books. So I feel a nice tiredness because of that prize. Also I feel shame because it is a crime to be a publisher sometimes in Turkey. It's a shame for my country. So I will go on to publish, to find new titles, to open new doors, new windows. So I will go on. There's always potential dangers. I like that. As a publisher, nobody can put borders on my work."

[Alexandros]

Congratulations to Ragip Zarakolu and other Turkish journalist like him. They are ones that will bring peace and reconciliation between Turks and Armenians closer to attainment

http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/region/europe/080919-turkey-freedom-mc

Freedom to Publish Prize for Turkish journalist
Persistence in the face of constant harrassment

BY ERIC BEAUCHEMIN
19-09-2008
Listen to the report (mp3)
Controversial Turkish journalist and publisher Ragip Zarakolu has been awarded the International Freedom to Publish prize. He has been a thorn in the side of the Turkish state for nearly 40 years, publishing books on taboo subjects such as the Armenian genocide, the Kurdish issue and Turkey's Greek minority. The prize is awarded by the International Publishers Association for exemplary courage in upholding freedom of expression and freedom to publish. Ragip Zarakolu received the award in Amsterdam, this year's World Book Capital.

Ragip Zarakolu receiving the IFA prize in Amsterdam
(picture: Kaj ter Borgh)
Ragip Zarakolu and his late wife in 1977 set up a publishing house in Istanbul that has been the target of Turkish censorship laws ever since. They constantly tried to create more space for democracy and freedom in Turkey. One of the most controversial books they published was about Kurdistan in 1990, when the region was embroiled in a guerrilla war between the Turkish state and the PKK separatists. The book was immediately banned by the authorities.
"They came to the publishing house and wanted to take all the copies, but we distributed all the copies before they came. We made 3000 copies. They were astonished. There was nothing they could do. So later they charged us and began a trial. The first trial was at the Serious Crimes Court. And we were accused of inciting Kurds to rebel and my late wife went to prison in 1994 for six months."
The prison sentences and the constant harassment from the Turkish state did not deter the Zarakolus. Two years later they published a book about the Armenian genocide, an even more controversial subject in Turkey.
"Our reaction was to publish more books about same topics because they charge us. They accuse us of a crime. So we try to understand what is the crime in reality: to publish a book or the topics inside the books. And if there is a crime inside the books, who are the real criminals. If you publish a book about the Armenian genocide and you were accused, you must show what the Armenian genocide is, who is responsible and who is really criminal."
Earlier this year, Zarakolu was found guilty for translating and publishing yet another book about the Armenian genocide. He seems to relish these run-ins with the authorities, and the International Publishers Association has now recognised his persistence by awarding him the Freedom to Publish prize, an award his late wife won exactly 10 years ago.
"You feel your struggle is accepted. I'm proud to take it because I love books. So I feel a nice tiredness because of that prize. Also I feel shame because it is a crime to be a publisher sometimes in Turkey. It's a shame for my country. So I will go on to publish, to find new titles, to open new doors, new windows. So I will go on. There's always potential dangers. I like that. As a publisher, nobody can put borders on my work."

Ragip Zarakolu is truly a hero.How many times hasn`t this guy been jailed?It`s still a miracle that Turkish extremists haven`t killed this guy.